^, 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0 


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lis   12.0 


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6"     

► 

Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRIET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MStO 

(716)873-4503 


A* 


J 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVl/ICIViH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  fnttitut*  for  Hiatorica!  Microraproductiona  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductiona  hiatoriquaa 


Tachnical  and  Bibliographic  Notaa/Notaa  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquaa 


Tha  inatituta  haa  anamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibiiographically  unique, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  In  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


□   Colourad  covers/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


r~|   Covars  damagad/ 


Couvartura  andommag^a 


□  Covars  raatorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  raataurAa  at/ou  palliculAa 

□   Covar  titia  miaaing/ 
La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 

□   Colourad  mapa/ 
Cartaa  giographiquaa  it  coulaur 

□   Colourad  ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  black)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  Maua  ou  noira) 

r~|   Colourad  plataa  and/or  illuatrationa/ 


D 
D 


D 


Planchaa  at/ou  illuatrationa  1%  coulaur 


Bound  with  othar  material/ 
RalM  avac  d'autraa  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cauae  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  mergin/ 

Lareliure  serrte  peut  causer  do  i'ombre  ou  do  la 
diatoralon  le  kmg  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blenk  leavaa  added  during  restoretion  may 
appeer  within  tha  text.  Whenever  poaaibia.  these 
heve  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
11  se  peut  que  certainee  pagea  bkinchaa  ajoutAea 
iors  d'une  reatauratlon  apperaiasant  dana  le  texte, 
mala,  iorsque  cele  Atait  poaaibia.  cea  pagea  n'ont 
pea  it*  filmAaa. 


0 


Additional  commenta:/ 
Commantaires  suppiimentairas: 


Irrtgular  pagingi. 


L'Inatitut  a  microfiimA  ie  meilleur  exempleire 
qu'il  iui  a  AtA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  ditails 
de  eet  Memplaire  qui  aont  peut-*tre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliogrephique.  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dana  la  mithoda  normaie  de  f ilmege 
sent  indiquis  ci-dessoua. 


rn  Coloured  pages/ 


D 
E 
D 
0 
D 
D 


B 


Thia  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  retio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  f  iim4  su  taux  de  rMuctlon  indiqu*  ci'deaaoua. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


Pagee  de  couleur 

Pagee  damaged/ 
Pagea  endommagAes 


Pagea  raatorad  and/or  iamineted/ 
Pagea  reataurAea  at/ou  paliicuiAes 

Pogee  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pegea  dicoloriaa,  tachaties  ou  piquAes 

Pagea  detached/ 
Pegea  dAtachAas 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quelit*  in4gale  de  i'impression 

Includee  supplementery  material/ 
Comprend  du  matiriel  suppMmentaira 


The 
toth< 


The  I 


r~n   Only  edition  avaMabie/ 


Seule  Mition  dieponible 

Pagee  wholly  or  pertiaily  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  heve  been  refiimed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  imege/ 
Les  pegea  totalement  ou  pertiellement 
obscurciea  par  un  fauiiiet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc..  ont  At*  film^es  i  nouveeu  de  fepon  i 
obtenir  la  mailleure  image  poasibia. 


ofth 
fllmii 


Origi 

begii 

the 

aion, 

other 

firat 

sion, 

or  illi 


Thai 
ahall 
TINU 
whici 

Mapa 

differ 

entire 

begin 

right 

requii 

meth( 


2SX 


30X 


y^ 


12X 


ItX 


aox 


a4x 


28X 


32X 


•ir« 

I  details 
|UM  du 
t  modif  i«r 
ig«r  una 
I  filmaga 


Th«  eopy  filmed  hw  hat  b««n  raproduced  thanks 
to  th*  oMiarosity  of: 

Im*  Walton  KNIam  Mmnorlal  Ubrary 
DalhoHiif  Univanlty 


Tha  Imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
poaalbia  ooneidaring  tha  condition  and  lagiblllty 
of  tha  original  copy  and  In  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apaclflcations. 


L'axamplaira  f ilm4  fut  raprodult  grica  i  la 
g«n«roait*  da: 

liaak  WaHon  Klllam  Mamoriai  Library 

Dalhoinit  Univanity 


Las  Imagas  sulvantas  ont  4ti  raproduitas  avac  la 
plus  grand  sdn,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattati  da  l'axamplaira  film*,  at  w 
oonformitA  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
fllmaga. 


i«aa 


Original  coplaa  in  printad  papar  covara  ara  filmad 
baglnning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  ¥vlth  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriate.  All 
othar  original  copies  ara  filmad  baglnning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  Impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  impression. 


Lsa  exemplalres  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
pepler  eat  ImprimAa  sent  fllmte  en  commenpent 
per  le  premier  plat  at  an  tarminent  salt  per  le 
derniAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'lHustretlon,  soit  per  ie  second 
plot,  selon  ie  ces.  Tous  les  eutres  exempleires 
origineux  sent  fllmto  sn  commenpent  per  le 
premlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustretion  at  en  terminent  par 
la  darnlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  lest  rscorded  freme  on  eech  microfiche 
shell  contain  tha  symbol  — ^>  (meening  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meening  "END"), 
whichever  epplies. 


Un  des  symboies  suivents  epparattre  sur  le 
dernlAre  imege  do  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
ces:  le  symbols  -^>signlfle  "A  8UIVRE".  le 
symbols  ▼  signifis  "FIN". 


re 


Meps,  pistes,  cherts,  etc..  mey  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  retlos.  Those  too  lerge  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  ere  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hend  corner,  left  to 
right  end  top  to  bottom.  e«  meny  fremes  os 
rsqulred.  The  following  diegrems  iliustrete  the 
method: 


Les  certes.  pisnches.  tablaeux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
fllmis  A  des  taux  da  riductlon  diff Grants. 
Lorsqua  le  document  est  trop  grend  pour  Atre 
reprodult  en  un  seul  clich*.  II  est  f llmA  A  pertir 
do  I'engle  supArleur  geuche.  de  geuche  A  droite. 
et  de  heut  en  bes,  en  prenent  le  nombre 
d'imeges  nAcesseire.  Les  diegrammas  suivents 
illustrent  la  mAthoda. 


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THE  MOST   REV.  JOHN  CARROLL,   D.D.. 

FIRST  AKCIIBISHDP  t)P  BALTIMOKK. 


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EFENDERS  OF  OUR  FAITH: 


THEII)  DEVOTION  TO  THE  CHURCH.  ' 

BIOGRAPHIES  AND  PORTRAITS 


or  OUR 


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;ardinals,  archbishops,  and  bishops, 

SETTING  FORTH  THEIR  ZEAL  AND  LABOR 

IN   THX 

DEVELOPMENT  OF   FAITH  AND   MORALS. 

rCLVDING  Atr  EXPLANATION  OF  THE  DOCTRINES  OF  THE  CHURCH i 
A  FULL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PLENARY  COUNCIL  OF  BALTI- 
MORE;    THE     CHURCH    IN    ITS    HISTORY; 
TEACHINGS.  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS 

IN   AMERICA. 


X*XlOB*XT8SI£<'2r   TUIaTJ&rCELAJSTSOD. 


BY 


JOHN  GILMARY  SHEA,  LLD. 


FUBUSBKD  WITH  THE  SPECIAL  SANCTION  AND  APPROBATION  OF  THE 
MOST  BEV.  ABCHBI8H0P  OF  NEW  TOBK. 


NEW    YORK: 

OFFICE  OF  CATHOLIC  PUBLICATIONS, 

3-*   RBADK   STREJEX. 

1893. 


» I 


OoRTTight,  1888 


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mm^'^''"'--'--  ■  ■    '■■'  '"-'■-■■'  ■■■'■■■^ 


1^:^; 


A  flW  or  TKI  MAVT  OrmOlS  ASB  IVDOIBXMIITS  OF 

THE  BI9BEST  DICfNITARSS  OF  TEE  CBURCB. 

—  «•« 

PDBLUHBD  Wim  8TS0IAL  BANOnON  UllDn  TBI 

IMPRIMATUR. 

«i    MICHAiL  A.  CORRIQAN,  Arohbtohop  of  Now  York. 


NI8  ■MUNINCI  CARDINAL  AR0HBI8HOR  OP  BALTIMORR. 

CardinoTs  House,  zo6  //.  Charlis  St. 
|Dear  Sirs: — *  *  *  His  Eminence  the  Cardinal  is  satisfied  that  Dr.  Shea's  extensive 
Id  correct  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  Churchmen  in 
United  States  has  left  indeed  little  room  for  criticism  or  improvement. 

Very  truly  yours, 

M.  F.  FOLEY,  Secretary. 


The  MOST  RKV.  AROHBI8HOP  OP  PHILADILPHIA. 

Jear  Sirs: —  •  •  «  Any  such  work  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Shea  must  command  uni- 
sal  respect  for  its  thorotighness  and  accuracy.  •  •  • 

Your  obedient  servant, 

41    P.  J.  RYAN,  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia. 


The  M08T  RIV.  ARCHBISHOP  OP  BOSTON. 

ArcMnshopric  of  BosioK, 
Union  Chancery  Office,  Union  Parh  St.,  JBoston. 

>ear  Sirs : — His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop,  directs  me  to  acknowledge 
receipt  of  your  new  bookj      *       •       *    .  and  to  convey  to  you  his  thanks 
srefor.  < 

Very  truly, 

R.  NEAGLE,  Chance  and  Sec. 

The  MOST  RIV.  ARCHBISHOP  OP  CINCINNATI. 

have  examiaed  "The  Hierarchy."/  Dr.  Gilmary  Shea  is  well  known  as  a  diligent 
^d(.it  of  Church  history,  and  he  himself  is  a  good  authority,,  so  that  any  work 
itten  by  him  is  worthy  of  confidence. 

ifi    WM.  HENRY  ELDER,  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati. 


The  MOST  RIV.  ARCHBISHOP  OP  ORIGON. 

)ear  Sirs  :  —Your  book      •      *      ♦      is  duly  to  hand.  •  •  •  It  is  certainly  weO' 
,  up,  and  a  volume  that  will  prove  very  interesting  to  Catholic  people  *  *  ♦   * 

if*    WM.  H.  GROSS,  Arehiithop  0/  Ortim, 


«S(iS.*SE,  ,■•/»;:>■■■  ■  - .  ■  "■    •;■ 


m^ 


TIM  RIQHT  HIV.  BISHOP  OP  BUPFALO. 

Dear  Sirs: — I  have  too  long  deferred  acknowledging  your  valuable  wotk,  t1 
"The  Hierarchy  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  U.  S./'  from  the  pen  of  our  ^ft 
historian,  Dr.  Shea,  L.L.D.  *  *  I  am  sure  our  Catholic  people  will  show  thei^ 
appreciation  of  the  talents  of  the  author  by  giving  it  a  wide  circulation. 

Yours  respectfully, 

li    STEPHEN  V.  RYAN.  ^i>A^0/^ijf«i^. 


Tli«  RIGHT  mV.  BISHOP  OP  CLIVBLAND. 

Gentlemen  : — I  have  to  acknowledge  with  many  thanks  the  receipt  of  the  copy  < 
Dr.  Shea's  latest  contribution  to  American  Church  history  and  published  by  you 

•         *♦♦*♦•••  Although  the  work 

icompendious  in  its  form,  it  is  full  of  interest,  as  anything  from  the  peft  of  tM 
learned  9Xid  painstaking  author  always  is.  I  sincerely  hdpe  your  enterprise,  and 
Dr.  Shea's  very  laudable  e£Forts  in  thus  adding  to  his  already  large  contribution  t(f 
American  Church  history,  may  meet  with  a  financial  support  deserved  for  unde 
taking  and  publishing  the  work,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  Catholic  world  so  far  as  | 
'know.    Hope  you  may  realize  your  highest  expectations  in  this  regard 

Jtyiutipal  Xesidenee.  Yours  very  truly  in  Christ, 

^    K.GllMO\iR,£isM0pof  Oeveland. 


The  RICHT  RIV.  BISHOP  OP  SPRiNQPIBLDr(MASS.> 

Dear  Sirs: — I  am  glad  that  you  are  about  getting  out  an  edition  of  th 
**  Hierarchy  of  the  Catholic  Church,"  which  is  a  sign  that  your  first  edition  was  { 
success.  I  think  the  pictures  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishops,  with  a  few  exceptions,  an 
better  and  truer  than  usually  given  in  a  book  of  that  kind. 

Yours  respectfully, 

^    V.  T.O'KEILLY,  Bishop  of  SpHngfietd, 


The  RIGHT  RIV.  BISHOP  OP  KANSAS  CITY. 


,Dear  Sirs : —  *  *  *  I  hope  your  book,  which  is  a  very  creditable  compilatio 
requiring  much  time  and  labor,  will  prove  to  be  a  success.  •  *  • 

#    50im  ].  HOGMi,  Biskap  of  KoHsas  Ok 


The  RIGHT  RIV.  BISHOP  OP  OGDINSBURG.  (N.  Y.> 


Dear  Sirs:- 

Vour  book  is  received,  and  is  in  a  double  sense  an  agreeable  surprise  to  me.     Fir 
because  I  had  never  heard  of  your  intention  to  publish  a  book  that  reflects  sud 
grreat  credit  upon  your  enterprising  house  for  the  manner  in  which  you  have  printfl 
It,  and  the  accuracy  of  your  mformation  as  far  as  I  am  concerned.  *  •  *  Believe 
with  best  wishes  for  your  worthy  Catholic  publications. 

Bishop* s  House^  Very  truly, 

fi    ZHGIfiSi  '?,yNK\mKi^%  Bishop  of  Of dtnsburg. 


:yv-^^:^i;;:;v  -  .-.-.i^ic''?  •  i^,^;,-  ;^« 


uable  wotk,  tt 


tli«  III0IIT  P  ^.  iltNOf»  or  NATOHM. 

Dioeete  tf  Natfktf,     '"' 
Dear  Sirs:—  *  *  *  The  author  iii  /A^  historian  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  U.  &,  ,^ 
[and  the  work  he  undertalces  is  one  of  deep  interest  to  the  history  of  the  Churc^  ^«i 
id  deserves  to  be  largely  patronised.  •  ♦  •  , 

Very  truly, 
#    V'BJMCIS  ]M^SSmiS,  Bishop  of  Natekes.        v;^j 

Th«  mQHT  RIV.  BI8HOF  OP  PORTlAMD,  (Ml.> 

Dear  Sirs : — It  is  a  ti"uly  valuable  book. 

Ill    JAMES  A.  HEALY.  Bishcp  of  Portland,  Mt, 


The  RIGHT  RIV.  RI8HOP  OP  HARTPORO. 

Dear  Sirs : —  •  *  *  I  have  not  had  time  to  read  it  carefully,  but  have  no  doubt 
^rom  what  I  have  seen  of  it,  that  it  will  prove  a  valuable  and  useful  work. 
Episcopal  JResidence,  Sincerely  yours, 

^l.A.VfKEiiCE^.UcVLKHOli,  Bishop  of  Mart/of dt  ^4 


The  RIGHT  RIV.  BISHOP  OP  NlORILI. 

Dear  Sirs : —  *  *  The  name  of  the  author,  Dr.  Shea,  L.L.D.,  is  a  suflSicient  guarau' 
bee  that  the  work  is  correct  and  reliable. 

Yours, 

41    5.0.S\3LLlVMi,Bishopo/MobiU. 


The  RIGHT  RRV.  BISHOP  OP  BRIB. 


Dear  Sirs  : —  **         ♦  •         "'A  work  which  must  prove  very  interes^ng    \ 

\t  Catholics  generally,  and  is  highly  creditable  to  the  distinguished  auuior,  and  the 
Enterprising  publishers. 

Yours  gratefully, 

ill    T.mjlAaEii,  Bishop  of  Erie. 


The  RIGHT  RBV.  BISHOP  OP  CHARLBSTON. 

Dear  Sirs :— A  timely  work. 

#    H.  P.  NORTHROP,  Bishop  of  Charleston. 


The  RIGHT  RBV.  BISHOP  OP  LA  OROSSB.  .% 

Bishop's  House,  La  Crosse,  Wis. 
Dear  Sirs : — Bishop  Flash  requests  me  to  acknowledge,  with  many  thanks,  the 
j-eceipt  of  the  goodly  volume,       ♦        •        ♦        »        ♦         which  you  had  the  '  "1 
rindness  to  send  Wm, 

Truly  yours. 


8.  J.  riTZPATRlCK,  Priest. 


'm 


^-Ji-"*^ 


»'»'v 


^  viw  or  TSB  iiAVTOFnioHi  AVDBiDossBiiiinKKrnaiBinr.  cxjDiQi 


Dear  Sirs: — Having  seen   and  examined  your  beautiful  boolc        *       •       • 
*       *     I  am  glad  to  recommend  ib  to  Catholics.    The  author,  Mr.  Joli 
Gilmary  Shea,  is  so  well  known  as  a  Catholic  writer,  and  his  authority  in  matten 
of  Church  history  is  of  so  high  a  degree,  that  his  name  alone  is  an  ample 


m,      recommendation. 


Yours  truly, 

F.  J.  BRUMMER,  Jlff/vr  of  St.  Marys  CkurtiA 


Dear  Sirs:— This  is  to  certify  that  I  have  examined  the  book  entitled  "The  Chuithl 
in  Our  Own  Country,"  by  Dr.  Shea.  I  am  satisfied  to  state  that  the  book  ii| 
worthy  of  a  place  in  every  Catholic  library. 

Very  truly,  TH.  BUYSE,  ^ 

Rector  of  St.  John's  Catholic  Church. 


University  of  Noire  pame. 
Dear  Sirs :— I  received  the  book  ordered,  and  am  well  pleased  with  its  make  ual 
I  hope  you  may  have  a  great  sale  of  such  a  work.     It  should  be  in  every  Catholttl 
library  and  household.    I  shall  do  what  I  can  to  make  it  known. 

Very  truly, 

Rev.  L.  J.  L.  ETOURNEAU. 


Dear  Sirs :  —  *  *  *  A  very  excellent  book  entitled  "  Lives  of  the  Americ 
Bishops,"  as  far  as  I  have  read  it.  *  *  The  work  appears  interesting  and  trust^ 
worth/. 

Very  truly, 

THOS.  J.  CONATY,  Pastor  Saired  Heart  Churci 


^~    '      Depr  Sirs  :- 

It  is  a  work  of  reliable  authorship.    I  take  great  pleasure  in  recommending!^ 
as  a  work  of  valuable  information. 

Very  truly, 
>  JNO.  J.  O'BRIEN,  Pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Churtk 


Gents  :—  *  *  On  account  of  its  intrinsic  worth  and  high  order  of  merit,  I  desire  i 
find  it  ,  *        *        *      in  every  family  of  my  charge,  and  to  know  that  it  has  i 
place  in  every  Catholic  library  in  the  land.    The  author's  name  is  sufficient  guara 
tee  of  the  literary  excellence  of  the  book.  *  *  Wishing  you  eminently  prosper^ 
issue  in  your  laudable  enterprise,  I  am, 

Very  respectfully, 

CLEMENT  LOWREV,  .ff#^A>r*/5A /»a«r*  C5i 


't.  Mary's  Churtk] 


olic  Church. 


rOURNEAU. 


{  the  Americail 
esting  and  trusV 


•ed  Heart  Chunk 


ecommendingifl 


Patrick's  ChurcK 


PREFACE. 


The  Reman  Catholic  Church,  Papal  in  its  head,  is  emi- 
nently Episcopal  in  its  general  working.  It  is  diffosed) 
maintained,  continued  by  the  action  of  its  Bishops,  and  it  ii 
in  them,  their  lives  and  career,  that  we  can  most  easily  study 
the  development  of  the  Church,  especially  in  a  country  like 
ours. 

This  work,  without  pretending  to  give  elaborate  or  exhaus* 
tive  biographies,  which  would  require  a  series  of  expensive 
volumes,  affords  the  reader,  however,  in  a  convenient  compass 
the  life  of  every  Archbishop  and  Bishop  connected  with  the 
Church  in  the  United  States  from*  the  appointment  of  the 
Most  Rev.  John  Carroll  as  Bishop  of  Baltimore,  in  1789,  to 
the  present  time,  as  also  a  brief  history  of  the  Church  from 
its  beginning  in  this  country  to  our  own  day,  and  an  account 
of  the  Plenary  Councils  of  the  United  States.  It  thus  pic- 
tures the  life  and  expansion  of  the  Church  in  this  Republic 
during  a  century,  and  will  be  a  useful  work  of  reference  to 
all  classes,  and  to  the  Catholic  a  source  of  religious  plea- 
sure, by  affording  all  some  notice  of  the  Bishops  under  whom 
they  live,  and  of  those  who  have  gone  to  their  reward,  of 
whose  zeal  and  labors  they  have  heard  their  elders  expatiate, 
or  whom  it  has  been  their  own  privilege  to  know. 

As  no  work  of  such  a  character  has  ever  been  presented,  ii 
will  prove  as  acceptable  as  it  was  surely  necessary.  Every 
effort  has  been  made  to  secure  authentic  portraits  to  accom* 
pany  the  text.  J.  G.  8, 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 


OV  THB 


CATHOLIC  DIOCESES  IN^HE  UNITED  STATES. 

Their  FaundtUioUt  Archbishops^  Bishops,  and  Present 
'  Condition, 


P; 


Baltimore    . 
Loaialana 
If  «w  Orleans 
Boston.     . 
New  York    . 
PlMladelphla   . 
Bardstown  . 
LoaisYllle 
Charleston  . 
RIohmond  - 
Cincinnati  . 
St.  Louis  . 
Mobile . 
Detroit     . 
Vinoennes    .  ^ 
Bubnque  . 
Nashville     . 
Natchez    . 
Little  Rook . 
Pittsburgh 
Allegheny    . 
Chicago    . 
Milwaukee  . 
Hartford  . 
Oregon 
Albany     . 
Buffalo 
Cleveland 
Oalveston    . 
Monterey  A;  Los 
Neequally    . 
St  Paul    . 
Vancouver's  Isl. 
Savannah 
Wheeling     . 
Santa  Fe  . 
Two  CalifomiaB 
San  Francisco 
Quincy 
Alton 

Brooklyn    . 
Burlington 
Covington   . 


Angeles 

•  • 

(Al"a.) 


178» 
1798 
188&-6 
1808 
1808 
1808 
1808 


1880 
1831 
1881 
1888-6 
1884 
1888 
1884 
1887 
1887 
1887 
1848 
1848 
1876 
1844 
1844 
1844 


1847 
1847 
1847 
1847 
1860 
1860 
1860 
1850 
1850 
1860 
1860 
1840 

1868 
1867 
1868 
1868 
1868 


I 


i 


8 
8 

4 
8 
6 
8 
4 
6 
8 

^ 

1 
6 


8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
4 
6 
8 
1 

u 

8 

V 

1 

8 


1808 

1860 

1875 
1860 
1876 


1860 
1847 


1880 
1876 


1846 


1888 


1876 
1868 


810 

178 

860 
600 


188 
14 


40 

146 

160 

184 

89 

88 

89 

818 


887 

178 
48 
167 
188 
808 
48 


187 

6 

89 

86 

48 

180 

119 

185 
58 
60 


146 


151 
196 
165 

180 


V 

46 
164 
167 
146 


45 

186 

818 
868 
148 
60 
184 
147 


48 
46 
178 
8 
88 
64 
84 

66 


118 
76 
48 


18 

17 

5 
60 
80 

86 

8 
6 

11 

15 
6 
9 

16 
8 

10 
5 


10 

88 
6 
9 

13 
8 
6 
8 

18 
6 

14 
8 


8 
7 
6 

19 


17 

6 

10 


S 


70 

60 
160 

.77 


94 
18 
61 
74 
64 
16 
88 
87 

79 

100 
186 
86 

9 
86 
61 
187 
17 
16 

6 
66 


14 


60 

90 
18 
80 


19 

17 
87 
80 

18 

8 

4 

16 

16 

8 

11 

8 

6 

8 

8 


8 

16 

10 

6 

4 

14 

14 

16 

4 

6 

8 

14 

1 

6 

8 

4 

18 

18 

81 
1 
5 


280,000 

800,000 

510.000 
800,000 
400,000 

185,00a 

8,000 

•16,000 

189,600 

880,000 

f»85,000 

186,000 

84.884 

•100,000 

•  81,800 

16,897 

9,000 

t85,iW0 

400,000 

180,000 

•176  000 

17,000 

•800,000 

188,551 

•800,000 

41,000 

40.000 

40,000 

•165,000 


80,000 
80,000 
•100,000 

880,000 

76,000 

880,000 
40.000 
44,000 


.-.'H 


8TATI8TICAI.  TABLES  OF  TBB  OATHOUO  DI00B8B8  IN  THE  V.  ti. 


ITATES. 

sent 


i« 


80     220,000 


19 


17 
87 
20 

12 

8 
4 

15 
16 
8 
11 
8 
6 
8 


800,000 

610,000 
800,000 
400,000 

125,000- 

8,000 

•16,000 

160.600 

280,000 

f86.000 

125.000 

84,884 

•100,000 

•  21,200 

15,807 

«,000 

8     185,000 


18 

10 
6 
4 

14 

14 

15 
4 
5 
8 

14 
1 
6 
8 
4 

12 

18 

21 
1 
6 


400.000 

180,000 

•176  000 

17,000 

•200,000 

188,661 

•209,000 

41,000 

40.000 

40.000 

•156,000 


20,000 

20,000 

^100,000 

220,000 

75,000 

280,000 
40,000 
44,000 


Bii6      •       • 
NatohitoohM 
ITewark 
Portland  . 
Fort  Wayne 
Sanlt  Ste^  Marie 
Mcurqaette   . 
Golambufl 
OreenBay  . 
Harriabarg 
St  Joseph   . 
KanaasCiity 
LaOroaae    . 
iCoohester 
Seranton     . 
Wilmington 
8t  AucniBtine 
Springfleld 
Ogdensburg 
Providence 
San  Antonio 
j-Aavenworth 
Peoria  . 
Trenton    . 
Davenport  . 
Q-rand  Rapids 
Helena 
Hanoheeter 
Omaha 
Oram  Valley 
Sacramento, 
^vraouse  . 
Cheyenne    . 
Oonoordla 
Banver 
Lincoln     . 
Wichita 
Belleville  . 
Sioux  FallH,  S. 
St  Cloud . 
Winona 
Onluth 
Jamestown 

Idaho  . 
North  Carolina 
Arizona 
Srownsville 
Utah    .       . 

Indian  Territory     . 


100.000 
4.500 
14,500 
60.000 
20,000 
8,000 
80.000 
60,000 
80,000 
60.65(> 
85,000 
80,000 

7,100 

8,000 

20,000 

44,660 


6,00» 


■  i*j    au-e  ' 


rtsj* 


■;.*■--' 


CONTENTS. 


'  ■  'i^a 


ijj 


Non-Tto  IMto  of  Oonlwlt  to  amagid  ky  dlooMH  laali 
UWtar«Mhdlo0iMto|lmttertiMO(«T«]r  Btohop  «ko  at  aaj  ttm*  praidid  «w  it 


lyhfi*riWt)iT  "Tdw.  tru^iMfVuiftiit  ttmlH  **"* 


Tn  Plbtabt  Oooaeiu  or  Tia  Oatrouo  Obubob  n  vn  Uvrbd  Statu, 
Tn  Oathouo  Ohvboh  u  thb  Unm  Statis,   . 
VioABs>AMnouo  or  BraLAio)  A|n>  nm  Loimov  Dmsior, 
Diooui  or  Baltuou  : 
Koai  Rer.  John  OvtoU, 
LMniudNe«]«, 
AmbroM  If Mrfehal, 
Jmdw  WhitMd,   . 
Samuel  Booletton, 
Fnmcls  P.  Kanriok, 
MmUd  John  Spalding, 
JuBM  BooMTelt  Baylej, 
Hii  Bmlnenoe  JamM  Caidlnal  Gibbons, 
Diocini  or  Bosroir: 

Bight  BoT.  John  Ohererat,    . 

Benedict  J.  Fenwkk,    . 
John  B.  Fitipatrick,     . 
Moet  BoT.  Jo^  J.  WUllami. 
Diooiu  or  Obioam  : 

Bight  Ber.  William  Quarter, 

Jamee  Oliver  Van  de  Velde^ 
Anthony  O'Begao,        . 
Jamea  Duggan,     . 
Thomas  Foley,      .       . 
Moet  BeT.  Patriok  A.  Feehan, 
Dioom  or  CiNciiiHAn : 

Bight  Bar.  Bdward  Fenwidt, 
Molt  BeT.  John  Baptist  Pnroell,    . 
William  Henry  Elder,   .. 
Diocisi  or  XiLWAiTKn : 

Most  Ber.  John  Martin  Henni,      . 
Miohael  Heias,      .       . 


.     48    , 

.     48 

.     68 

^  'im 

.      61 

•  3 

.     66 

'■'■  \*\^ 

.      67 

.     68 
.      78 

.     74 

jjS 

.      77 

•>:'-*i 

.      81 

.sl^ 

.     88 

.     86 

.     87 
.     88 

■    % 

.     81 

'  ''***^ 

■m 

.     86 

-J 

-  ■'■■■ 

.     86 

.     87 

"  1 

.     88 

.V 

.     88 

"  ^ 

.    100 

■f 

.    108 

.    106 

■:A 

.    109 

. 

■  }<ii 

.    Ill 

'  ■,  .  .'i~ 

,114 

■^ 

▼1  oQimMn. 

DtooMi  ot  Vaw  <^ttaAM  I 

MoilBtT.  LooiilgiutliuPMbavwyCMdMiu,    .......   118 

WUliMB  Iiooif  Dttbouf , .   UO 

Right  Bar.  Lto  BaTinoiid  d«  Ntoktr*. "  .       .118 

Moit  B«T.  Anthonj BbuM, .      .      .-IM 

John  kwy  Odin, IIS 

NapoltAii  J.  PMohtf ,       .      .       .    Itr 

nnmob  X.  Lutkj,     .  .       .  .      .  .   IM 

Fnnoii  Jmumoi,  .       .       .      .       .      .      ',      ,  .   tlS 

Dioom  or  Naw  Tou  : 

Right  Bat.  BiohardLuk«OonouMn,  0.8.  D., 1S3 

John  Connolly,  O.S.D.,         .       .       .       .       .       ,       .  f    itS 

John  Da  Boil, ,     \      .184 

Molt  Ber.  J<^  Hnghw, '    .    186 

Hii  Bminenoe  John  Oftrdinal  MoOloakoy .148 

Moit  BoT.  MiohMl  A.  Oorrignn, 148 

OiocMi  or  OBM<Hr : 

Most  BoT.  Fruois  N.  BlAnol^et     .       .      .       .      ,       ,      .       .      ,       .180 

OharlM  John  Soghera^  .       .      . 1S8 

WUllam  H.  Groai,         .       .       .       ...       .       .       .       .    168 

Dnom  or  PmuLDBLPHU : 

Bight  BeT.  MiohMl  1^, *    .       .       .155 

Henry  Oonirell, 156 

Fnnois  Patriok  Eenriok,      .       .       .       .       .      .       .      .       ^74 

John  N.  Neonuuin,       .       •       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .    157 

Mof  t  Ber.  Hum  Frederic  Wood, 158 

Patriok  John  Byin,  .      . .100 

Diocni  or  St.  Louu : 

Bight  BeT.  Joeeph  Roeati .162 

Mort  BeT.  Peter  Biohard  Kenriok,        .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .164 

Right  BeT.  James  Duggan,     ...........     98 

Patrick  John  Byan,i      .       .       ...       .       .       .       .       ...    160 

DioowB  or  Sm  Fmiiroxsoo : 

Bi|^t  BeT.  Francis  Garcia  Diego  y  Moreno, .       .169 

Most  BoT.  Joseph  Sadoo  Alemany,        .  170 

Patrick  W.  Bioidan,     .........       .172 

or  St.  Paul  s 

Bight  BeT.  Joseph  CMtln.       ...       . 877 

Thomas  L.  Grace,  O.S.D .       .       .878 

Most  BeT.  John  Ireland, .879 


.  118 

.  110 

.  lin 
.-in 

.  116 

.  m 

.  IM 
.  tl8 

.  m 

\   <w 

.  184 

'  .  186 

.  148 

.  148 

.  ISO 
.  1S2 
.  IBS 

.  155 

.  156 

74 

.  157 

,   .  158 

.   »  180 

.  .  162 

.  .  164 

.  .  08 

.  .  160 

.  .  160 
.  .  170 
.   .  172 

.  .  877 
.  .  878 
.   .  870 


OOMTBMTIl  ynSi 

DnoMi  ov  Sara  fS  i 

Moil  B«T.  John  B.  Lmbjt, .  ,    •      .  Itt 

John  B.  8«lpolnt«t IIS 

Dioom  or  AtBurr  t  ^ 

lUght  IUt.  John  XoOlo^bf .       .      .  14t 

John  JoMph  Oouoj, «...  lit 

rnuiotiB.lIoM«lni7, J   .      .      .      .180 

Dioou  or  liiKOir  i 

Bif ht  B»r.  Heiurj  DmdImi  Janokor,  .       •      •      ....  .184 

PatorJoMphBdtM.     . 185 

JuBM  tLyn,  .....••••    Supplemmit,  ti 
Dioom  or  BBOounr  i 

Bight  B«T.  John  Loaghlln,     . ,       «      .       .  187 

DlOOISl  or  BUTTALO  t 

Right  Be?.  John  Tlmon,  O.M., '.       .       .       .180 

Stephen  Vinoent  Byui,  O.M.,  ••.•..       .    lOS 

Dioom  or  BrauiiaToir ! 

Bight  Ber.  Loole  de  Ooeibrlud,    .       ••••      .      •      •      ..       .100 
Diocni  or  OBAtLUTOii : 

Bight  Ber.  John  Bnglud, 107 

WilUun  OUno7,  Ooedjntor,  .       .    -  •^^^^^r  •       •       •       •    000 

Ignatius  Aloysiiu  Be]moldi»  V^^^B  •       •      •       •    8^1 

Patrick  Niesen  Lynoh,  .  '^KK^^^m  *      *  .808 

Henry  P*  Noithzop^  '^KKKr  *  804, 

Dioom  or  Omnmnra : 

Right  Be?.  Maurice  F.  Bnrke,        .       .....       •       •       .       .   411. 

Dioom  or  OLKnuxD  t 

Bight  Ber.  Amadens  Bappe,  ,......'.....    80S 

Richard  Gilmour,  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       •       .  '   .       .800 

Dioom  or  Ooluxbcs  :         '  , 

Bight  Bey.  Sylvester  H.  Bosecrans, •       ...       .   900. 

John  Ambrose  Watterson, 810 

Dioom  or  Cohoobdu  : 

Bight  Ber.  Biohard  Soannell,  .       .       ...       .       .^     .       .       .       .   414 

Dioom  or  Ooyursroir : 

Bight  Bey.  Oeo.  A.  OarreU,     .       .       .       .       .       .       /     .       ;       .       .   SU 

Augustus  M.  Toebbe,    ..........    910 

CamiUus  Paul  Maee,     .       .       . 910 

Dioom  or  DAVmoBT : 

Bight  Bey.  John  MoMullen,    .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .      s    910 

Henry  Oosgrore,    ..;...,..,.    910 


'» 
'''5 


Tiii 


oovmiii. 


*  \ 


<  ♦ 


Dkmmmov  Dnrmt 

Bight  BtT.  JoMpb  P.  MMlMboMf.  .      .      . 
NioholM  0.  Mati. .... 
I^MWMi  <iv  DiraoRt 

Bifht  B«T.  Fndcriok  R<i«,     .... 
^tor  Pwil  Lafant,  Adminlitntor, 
Otoper  H.  BorgtM, 
.  Johns. Folej,      .... 

DnOMi  Of  DOBCQUI  t 

Bight  Bar.  lUtthiMLons 

Olament  Smytli,     .... 
John  Emmmy,     .\      .       •       • 
Diooan  or  Bui : 

Bight  B«T.  MiohMl  O'Connor,  .... 
Jotne  M.  Toong,    .... 
ToUm  Million,       .       •       .       • 
Dioom  or  Fokt  Watkb  t 

Bight  B»r.  John  Henrj  Lnera, 
Joaeph  Dwaagar,    , 
Diooni  or  OALnnoir : 

Bight  Bar.  John  Marj  Odin,    . .       . 

OlMida  Mm7  Dnbuis,     ...;.«.... 

Nioholas  A.  Oallagher, ' ' .       .       .      '. 

Diooin  or  Osamd  Binoa : 

Bight  Bar.  Hanrj  Joeaph  Biohtar, t       • 

Dioom  or  Gkabs  Yallit  : 

Bight  Bar.  Bogana  O'Oonnall .       . 

Patrick  Mftnogna, 

Dioom  or  Gunr  Pjt  : 

Bight  Bar.  Jostfph  Malohar, 

*  Francis  X.  Knatbauar, <       . 

Fradario  X.  Eatxer, Snpplaniont, 

Dioom  or  HAiuusBiTKe : 

Bight  Bar.  Jaramiah  F.  Shanahan, .'.       .  '     . 

Thomas  MoOoTam «       .       .    Snpplamant, 

Dioom  or  HiBxromD : 

Bight  Bar.  William  Tyl*. .      ■ >.      •       •        •       • 

Barnard  O'KeQy, .       ^.,     .       . 

JfranoisP'ithokMaVarland 

Thomas  OalUrry,  U.B.A.,  .       .       .  ^    .       .       . 

Lawranoe  S.  If  oMahon,  .       *       .       ,. 


419 


186 


9N 

■   DiOOMI  OW  ] 

■        Bight  B 

%a 

H  Diooni  or  ] 

H       Bight  B* 

MS 

H 

•46 

H 

Hlhoomor  1 

M8 

■       Bight  Bi 

£41) 

1 

f 

■ 

•61 

H  Dioom  or  1 

X 

1       Bight  B« 

•se 

•64 
966 

■  Diocmor  M 

■  Bight  B«i 

•66 

I 

•68 

■ 

ooNTurrs  ix 

HifblR*?.  juiinB.Biond«l,    .       .       .      « Ml 

DnevM  or  KAma  Oirr  a«d  St.  Jotm  t 

BIfht  Bit.  John  JowphBofM^ Ml 

jMom  Of  La  Ommi  i 

BifMBoT.MiohMlHdMb 114 

KUiMiFlMoh,       .......... 

DiooM  OP  LaATurwoBn  t 

Bifht  BoT.  .^oliR  B.  MUf*,  8J.,  Yiow  AfNwtoUok  .       .       . 

7..uU  MrrukFink.  O.S.B., ^       .       .    VIO 

Dioo«n  oir  Lncuuit 

TUfbt£47. '.  .^mMBoDMram,         ..........   41t 

Drro""  Of  Lmu  RouK  t 

Rifbt  BoT.  Andrtw  Byrao^ fli 

BdwMd  Fitsgsnld.  .       .  ^    •       .       .       .  .178 

Diooin  Of  Lovnnixi : 

Right  B«?.  fiflnediot  JoMph  Fkget, .   fH 

Mwtio  John  Spftldlng ,  .  79 

John  BopUrt  D»Tid,       .      . 
Qnj  Ignatiai  Chabnt,  Ootajun 

F«torJoMphL«TbUe. MS 

WUliun  0.  MoOlMkay M6 

DiooHi  Of  MiHonnraB : 

Right  IUt.  Denis  M.  Br»dl«7,  .  V   ..........    886 

Dioosn  Of  MABQunra : 

Right  Rot.  Fndtrio  Banga, .       .       .  M8 

IgnoUtuMrak, Ml 

JohnVoitin.  .      .       ,  ' .  M8 

DiooMi  Of  MouLi : 

Right  Rot.  MiohMl  Portitr, MS 

JohnQninlMi 9M 

Dorainio  Manuoy MS 

Jeromlkb  O'SalliTan,      . .MO 

Dioom  Of  Xoxmn  amd  Los  Anqiles  : 

Right  Rot.  Joseph  Sodoo  AkBuny .170 

Thoddens  AiMt, Ml 

Fknnois  M ora, :       .       .       .       .  8M 

I  Dioom  Of  BAnTiu.1 : 

RlghtBoT.  BfohudPioB^es,  O.S.D.,          , MB 

Jmbm  Wfaotan,  O.S.D .       .  M7 

FMrlok  A.  Peehan, .  IW 

Josoph  Bodeipi^her,     .......       ^       ,.  808 


X  OONTHSNTa 

DiooKSB  or  NiToni: 

Bight  Ber.  John  Joseph  Ohanche,  .       .       ........   811 

James  Oliver  Van  De  Yeltlp,  .       .       .       .       .       .-      .     M 

William  Heniy  Elder,    .       ...       .       .       .       .       .       .109 

Francis  Janssens, 818 

DiooESB  or  Natchttoches  :  ^ 

Right  Rot.  Augostos  M.  Martin, 818 

Francis  Xavier  Leray,    .       ,       .  .       .       .       .       .       .-   118 

Anthony  Durier, .       .    819 

Thooni  or  Nksquallt  : 

Bight  Bev.  Augustine  M.  Blanohet,  .       .       . 880 

^gidius  Junger,    .       ,       .       .       .       .' ^  819 

DiooBSK  or  Nbwabx  : 

Bight  Ber.  James  Boosevelt  Bayley .       .       .       .81 

Michael  A.  Corrigan,    ^       .       . .148 

Winand  M.  Wigger, .       .       .884 

OiooBSX  or  Ogdsrsbubg  : 

Bight  Ber.  Edgar  P.  Wadhams, 886 

Diocm  or  Omaha  : 

Bight  Bev.  James  O'Oorman, .       .       .       .881 

James  O'Connor,    . .       .      ,.    882 

DiocisB  or  fiOBiA  : 

Bight  BeT.  John  L.  Spalding, 884 

DiocBSB  or  PrrrsBOBGH : 

Bight  Bev.  Michael  O'Connor,         .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .886 

Michael  Domenec,         .       ...       .       .       .       .       .       .    888 

JohnTuigg,  .       .        .       .       .       .       .       ...       .       .889 

Bichard  Phelan,  Coadjutor,  . 848 

DiocKSB  or  PoBTLAin> : 

Bight  Bev.  David  W.  Bacon,  .       .'  .       .       .       .       .       ...    844 

James  Augustine  Healy,       .       . 845 

DiocBSB  or  Providbncb  : 

Bight  Bev.  Thomas  F.  Hendrioken,  .       .       .       .       .       .       .847 

Matthew  Harkins, Supplement,       v 

DiOCBSB  or  BlOHMOMD  :  * 

Bight  Bev.  Patrick  Kelly .       .849 

Bichard  V.  Whelan .       .       .       .       .860 

John  MoGiU,  .       ; 868 

James  Gibbons,      .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .83 

John  J.  Eeane.       . 868 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

Diooni  or  Roobmtik  : 

Bight  Bat.  Barnard  J.  MoQuftid 857 

Diocm  or  SioBAimrao : 

Bight  Ber.  Patriok  Manogue, 246 

Diocm  or  Sah  Amtonio  : 

Bight  Ber.  Anthony  D.  Pellioer,'  ;       .       .       .    8S9 

J.  O.Nenu, 800 

Dioonn  or  Satamkah  : 

Bight  Ber.  Francis  X.  Gartland, 

John  Barry,    .  ■ 

Augostine  Verot,    .       .       .       .       .       .  .       .       .       .    884 

Ignatius  Persioo,    ...       .       .       .       .    '  .  .       .       .    800 

William  H.  Gross, 188 

Thomas  A.  Becker, 898 

Diocese  or  Sosamton  : 

Right  Ber.  William  O'Hara, ;       .    809 

DiocKSB  or  SpRiNoriEU) : 

Right  Ber.  P.  T.  O'Beilly,        .       .       .       ,       .       .       ;       ....    871 
Diocese  or  St  Auausmra : 

Bight  Bev.  Angustine  Verot,    .       .       . .804 

John  Moore ,   .    875 

Diocese  or  Stbaoitse  : 

Bight  Ber.  Patrick  A.  Ludden .       .       .       .       .    400 

Diocese  or  Tbbmton  : 

Bight  Ber.  Michael  J.  O'Farrell,      .       .       .       .       .       ...  .    881 

Diocese  or  Vcronnnts : 

Bight  Ber.  Simon  Gabriel  Brut^,      .       .  888 

Celestine  B.  L.  G.  de  la  Hailandiftre,  . , -'  tfi ':-  %  ....  885 
John  Stephen  Bazin,  .  .  .  >  ,,  .  .  .  .  .  888 
James  M.  M.  de  St.  Palais,     .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .    887 

Francis  Silas  Chatard , 

Diocese  or  Wheeliko  : 

Bight  Bey.  Biohard  Vincent  Whelan 

John  J.  Kain,  ...       ....  .       .       •       .       .       .    891 

Diocese  or  Wiliiinoton  : 

Right  Ber.  Thomas  A.  Becker, 898 

Alfred  A.  Curtis. Supplement,      n 

i  Diocese  or  Wichita  : 

Right  Ber.  James  O'Beilley, .408 

J.  J.  Hennessy,      .......       ^       ,..    40^ 


Xn  CONTENTS. 

VlOABUn-APOBTOUO'OF  Abuoha  : 

Bight  Rev.  J.  B.  Salpointe,      .       . .       .178 

P.  Bourgade, 408 

Yioasuti-Akwtouo  of  Dakota  :  . 

Bight  Rev.  Martin  l^laxtj,  O.S.B., .886 

Yicabiate-Afostouo  of  Idaho  : 

Bight  Rev.  Louis  Lootens, 888 

A.  J.  Glorleux, .       .     • .       .    400 

Vioabute-Apostouc  of  Nobth  Carolina  : 

Bight  Rev.  James  Gibbons '      .       .     88 

John  J.  Eeane, .       .       .    8S8 

H.  P.  Northrop, .       .       .  ^  804 

Leo  Haid,  O.S  B.,    .       .       .       .     ,  , 408 

Vicabiatb-Afostouo  of  Nobthibn  MnnncsoTA  : 

Bight  Rer.  Bupert  Seideubush,  O.S.B , .       .       .401 

ViOABiATB- Apostolic  of  Utah  : 

Bight  BeT.  Laurence  Scanlan 404 


i^*- 


I* 


¥  S 


r-!  I   '^  ,Cr 


.    178 
.    408 


400 


.V204 
.    408 

.    401 

.    404 


-  i"fi 


'  '^i 


.■'j~.-V 


&-^'. 


m  an  in 


His  Eminence  James  Cardinal  Gibbons. 
Archbishop  of  'Baltimore. 


ftV.^ 


THE  PLENARY  COUNCILS 


1 


Of  TBB 

.    '/■■  ■  -'  ■ 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


From  the  moment  that  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  dividing  the 
diocese  of  Baltimore  into  those  of  Baltimore,  Boston,  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  Bardstown,  founded  a  hierarchy,  it  was  the 
wish  of  the  venerable  Archbishop  Carroll  to  assemble  his  suffra- 
gans in  council  and  concert  measures  for  the  good  of  the  Church. 
The  delays  caused  by  the  arrest  of  Bishop  Concanen  in  Italy, 
and  finally  his  death,  defeated  this  project,  and  the  proto-bishop 
and  archbishop  gathered  his  newly-consecrated  suffragans,  and 
in  an  informal  assembly  adopted  some  regulations  in  order  to 
maintain  uniform  discipline,      -y^-^^./  -r  '■'■\^::.\'''''^''^^:'!^^\-:^-/  '^ 

Louisiana  and  the  Floridas,  which  had  been  formed  into  a 
diocese  in  1793,  had  long  been  deprived  of  the  superviftion  of  a 
bishop,  and  in  part  were  for  a  time  under  the  administratorship 
of  Archbishop  Carroll,  so  that  no  concurrence  from  those  parts 
of  the  country  was  possible.  ^    - 

Under  the  successors  of  Archbishop  Carroll  steps  were  taken 
here  and  at  Rome  to  effect  the  holding  of  a  provincial  council, 
but  this  was  not  carried  into  effect  till  the  year  1829,  when  the 
First  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  was  held  by  Archbishop 
Whitfield.  Though  not  styled  a  Plenary  Council,  it  was  in  a 
certain  sense  really  one,  for  not  only  were  the  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore  and  his  suffragans  present,  but  also  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Louis,  who  was  also  Administrator  of  the  diocese  of  New  Or- 
leans ;  and  the  Bishop  of  Mobile,  who  was  a  suffragan  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Santiago  de  Cuba,  had  been  invited,  but  did  not 
return  from  Europe  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  sessions.  It  was 
intended  to  be  a  council  of  all  the  Catholic  bishops  having  juris- 


^1 


« 


,':■■  \ 


44 


THB  FlitKABT  OOUKOIIfi  09  THl 


diction  in  the, United  States.  The  First  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore,  convened  under  authority  from  the  Pope  in  1828,  as- 
sembled on  the  Ist  of  October,  1829,  the  Most  Rev.  James  Whit- 
field, Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  presiding,  and  Bishops  Benedict 
Joseph  Maget,  of  ,Bard8town ;  John  England,  of  Charleston ;  Ed- 
ward Fenwick,  of  Cincinnati ;  Benedict  Fenwick,  of  Boston ;  Jo- 
seph Rosati,  of  St.  Louis ;  and  the  Very  Rev.  William  Matthews, 
Vicar-General  Apostolic  of  Philadelphia,  attending.  The  coun- 
cil was  succeeded  by  other  Provincial  Councils  held  at  Balti- 
more under  the  presidency  of  the  archbishops  of  that  city ;  but 
when  other  sees  were  raised  to  the  archiepiscopal  dignity,  and 
there  seemed  to  be  a  probability  that,  as  councils  were  held  in 
the  new  provinces,  divergences  would  arise  in  discipline  on  many 
essential  points,  it  was  deemed  highly  conducive  to  the  general 
good  of  the  Church  that  the  several  metropolitans  of  the  United 
States  and  their  suffragans  should  assemble  together  in  a  Plen- 
ary Council,  and  adopt,  where  possible,  uniform  rules  to  be  ob- 
served in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  mischiefs  and  miseries 
which  had  arisen  elsewhere,  leading  at  times  to  schism,  where  a 
national  chai'acter  was  sought  to  be  imposed  on  the  Churchy  cut- 
ting it  away  from  the  Holy  'See  and  from  the  ^hurch  in  other 
countries,  were  too  well  known  not  to  be  avoided. 

Pope  Pius  IX.,  approving  of  the  desire  of  the  American' 
bishops  by  his  Apostolic  Brief,  In  Apoatolicw  Sedis  fastigio, 
August  19,  1851,  appointed  the  Most  Rev.  Francis  Patrick  Ken- 
rick,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  Delegate  Apostolic  to  preside 
over  the  assembled  prelates,  recognizing  "  his  remarkable  know- 
ledge of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  zeal  for  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
eminent  fidelity  to  the  Holy  See." 

The  Council  met  on  the  8th  of  May,  1852,  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Baltimore.  Besides,  the  Most  Reverend  Delegate  Apostolic, 
there  were  present  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishops  Blanchet,  of 
Oregon;  Kenrick,  of  St.  Louis;  Blanc,  of  New  Orieans;  Hughes, 
of  New  York ;  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati ;  the  Right  Rev.  Bishops 
Portier,  of  Mobile ;  Loras,  of  Dubuque ;  Miles,  of  Nashville ; 
Chanche,  of  Natchez ;  Whelan,  of  Wheeling ;  Lefevre,  (Adminis- 
trator) of  Detroit ;  Odin,  of  Galveston ;  O'Connor,  of  Pittsburgh ; 
Byrne,  of  Little  Roclv;  M'^Hoskey,  of  Albany;  Reynolds,  of 


OATBOUO  OmrilOH  IK  THE  UKXTKD  STATBti. 


45 


Charleston;  Heni^i/ol  Milwaukee;  Fitzpatrick,  of  Boston; 
Rappe,  of  Cleveland;  Timon,  of  Buffalo;  Spalding,  of  Louis- 
villti ;  Van  de  Velde^  of  Chicago ;  Blanchet,  of  Nesqually ;  Ale* 
many,  of  Monterey ;  O'Reilly,  of  Hartford ;  Gartland,  of  Savan- 
nah; McGill,  of  Richmond;  Lamy  (Vicar- Apostolic),  of  New 
Mexico ;  Cretin,  of  St.  Paul ;  Mi^ge  (Vicar- Apostolic),  of  Indian 
Tenitory;  and  Ne'imann,  of  ^iladelphia.  Each  bishop  and 
archbishop  was  attended  by  theologians,  and  there  were  also 
summoned  to  the  Council  the  Abbot  of  La  Trappe,  the  Com- 
missary-General of  the  Augustinians,  the  Visitor-General  of 
the  Dominicans,  the  Superiors  of  the  Benedictine  and  Francis- 
can orders,  the  Provincial  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  Maryland, 
the  Vice-Provincial  of  Missouri,  and  the  Superiors  at  New  York 
and  New  Orleans,  the  Provincial  of  the  Redemptorists,  the  Rec- 
tor of  the  Sulpitian  Seminary,  and  the  Lazarist  Director  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity.  The  sessions  closed  on  the  2()th  of  May,  and 
issued  twenty-five  decrees,  which  were  approved  by  a  decree  of 
the  Congregation  de  Propaganda  FidSy  Sept.  26,  1852.  The 
acts  and  decrees  of  this  First  Plenary  Council  were  published  at 
Baltimore  in  1858. 

The  decrees  of  this  Council  were  also  promulgated  in  almost 
all  the  provinces,  and  the  beneficial  results  soon  led  to  a  desire 
for  another  general  assemblage  of  the  archbishops  and  bishops 
of  the  country,  who  had  grown  in  number  by  the  erection  of  new 
sees  and  the  establishment  of  new  metropolitan  jurisdictions. 

The  Letters  Apostolic  of  Pius  IX.  Apoatolici  miniaterii  mv/nus^ 
Feb.  16,  1866,  appointed  the  Most  Reverend  Martin  John  Spal- 
ding to  preside  in  a  Second  Plenary  Council  at  Baltimore.  It 
opened  on  the  7th  and  closed  on  the  2l8t  of  October.  The 
Fathers  of  the  Council  comprised  the  Archbishops  of  Baltimore, 
Oregon,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco,  New  Orleans,  New  York,  the 
Bishop  Administrator  of  Detroit,  the  Bishops  of  Milwaukee, 
Nesqually,  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  Vincennes,  Richmond,  Santa  F6, 
Brooklyn,  Newark,  Burlington,  Covington,  Monterey  and  Los 
Angeles.  Natchitoches,  Portland,  Alton,  Chicago,  Natchez,  Fort 
Wayne,  Charleston,  Hartford,  the  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Nebraska, 
the  Bishops  of  St.  Paul,  Mobile,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburgh,  the 
Vicar- ApostoFc  of  Marysville,  the  Bishops  of  Savannah,  Galves- 


"■•.I 


^ 


46 


?ai  fii^ABT  ootriroiu  ov  nb 


I  • 


» I 


ton,  LouitvUlfl,.  Albany,  Nashville,  Boptoa,  Dubuque,  th«  Auz- 
iliar  Bishop  of  Ginoinnati,  the  Administrator  of  the  diooeee.of 
Erie,  and  a  representative  of  the  Vioai'^Apostolio  of  Indian  Terri- 
tory,* as  well  as  the  Abbots  of  La  Trappe  and  St.  Benedict. 
The  Bishop  of  Galveston  was  absent  from  the  country.  #. 

There  were  also  Provincials  or  Superioi's  of  the  DominicaOH, 
Reformed,  Conventual,  and  Observantine  Franciscans,  the  Capu- 
chins, the  Society  ^f  Jesus,  Laiarists,  Sulpitians,  Bedemptor- 
ists,  Passionists,  Oblaies,  Most  Precious  Blood,  Paulists,  and  Bro- 
thers of  Mary. 

The  decrees  passed,  instead  of  being  confined  to  mere  points 
of  discipline  adapted  to  this  country,  cover  the  whole  field  of  the 
doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  Church.  The  decrees,  comprising 
(^82  sections,  divided  under  fourteen  titles,  were  approved  by  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  through  the  Propaganda,  on  the  24th  of  January,  1868, 
and  were  published  in  1868,  comprising  a  volume  of  554  pagee. 
It  was  fft  once  adopted  in  the  theological  seminaries  as  a  compre 
hensive  manual  of  the  doctrinal  and  disciplinary  law  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States.  A  volume  of  Notes  ex- 
plaining many  of  the  provisions  was  prepared  by  the  Rev.  S 
Smith,  D.D.,  and  published  in  1874. 

The  gathering  of  all  the  Catholic  bishops  of  the  world  in 
an  Oecumenical  Council  at  the  Vatican  led  to  the  discussion  of 
many  points  of  Church  government  and  discipline  which  could 
not  be  passed  upon  by  the  Council,  its  sessions  having  been  in- 
terrupted  by  the  sacrilegious  seizure  of  the  Capital  of  the  Catho- 
lic world. 

A  third  Plenary  Council  was  accordingly  convened  in  pursu- 
ance of  Letters  Apostolic  of  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  who 
appointed  the  Most  Rev.  James  Gibb6ns,  Archbishop  of  Balti- 
more, to  preside  over  its  deliberations  as  Delegate  Apostolic. 
The  matters  to  be  treated  of  in  the  Council  were  on  this  occasion 
first  discussed  at  Rome  by  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishops  or 
their  delegates,  and  a  commission  of  theologians  appointed  by 
the  Holy  See. 

The  Third  Plenary  Council  was  opened  in  the  Cathedral  at 


•Hm  BiilMqp  of  Ymmootu^b  Uand  attended  as  a  oaffraftan  of  tbe  AcohMshop  of  Ov^n, 
tlthongb  hia  dioeaso  was  not  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States. 


(UTIOIilO  OBUBQB  IK  tBM  OMinflD  0VAffM. 


«r 


Baltimortt  on  the  9th  ot  lilovember,  1884,  and  olosed  on  the  7th 
of  the  following  month,  its  deliberations  having  been  extended 
far  beyond  the  time  of  the  previoui  gatherings  of  the  American 
prelates.  It  was  attended  by  fourteen  archbishops,  sixty  bish* 
ops,  four  bishops  from  Canada  and  one  from  Japan  as  visitors, 
one  prefect*apo8tolic,  seven  abbots,  and  twenty-three  superiors 
of  religious  orders,  with  vicanhgeneral,  superiors  of  seminaries, 
and  theologians. 


r:,'^ 


1 1 


EysN 

this  anci 
As  ea 
and  Ghri 
priests  ai 
was  offei 
iards  wer 
such  cone 
wounded 
a  settlem 
and  the  1 
the  Jame 
fered;  bn 
doned. 

Thee: 
them,  but 
of  religio] 
the  hardi 
survivor 
Father  '^ 
Mexico, 
dered  by 
I  country  i 
I  establish^ 
territory ; 


The  Catholic  Church 


ZV   XHB 


UNITED   STATES. 


EyxN  in  the  territory  now  emWaoed  in  the  United  States 
this  ancient  Chuh;h  preceded  all  other  Christian  denominations. 

As  early  as  1521  Ponce  de  Leon,  seeking  to  plant  civilization 
and  Christianity  on  our  shores,  landed  in  Florida  with  Catholic 
priests  and  religions,  and  the  liturgy  of  the  Catholic  Church 
was  offered  amid  the  evergreen  glades.  But  while  the  Span* 
iards  were  building  their  houses  and  chapel,  the  Indians  kept  up 
such  constant  war  that  the  settlement  was  abandoned  by  the 
wounded  commander.  In  1626  Yasquez  de  Ay  lion  commenced 
a  settlement  on  one  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Chesapeake, 
and  the  Dominican  friars  who  attended  him  reared  a  chapel  on 
the  James,  where  for  months  the  rites  of  the  Church  were  of* 
fered;  but  the  commander  died  and  the  settlenjient  was  aban- 
doned. 

The  expeditions  of  Narvaez  and  De  Soto  had  cler|iymen  with 
them,  but  no  settlements  were  formed,  and  the  pioneer  ministers 
of  religion  who  accompanied  the  conquistadores  perished  amid 
the  hardships  of  the  march.  Impelled  by  the  account  of  a 
survivor  of  one  of  these  ill-fated  expeditions,  the  Franciscan 
Father  Mark,  of  Nice,  in  Italy,  penetrated  in  1589  to  New 
Mexico.  Others  followed  and  began  missions,  only  to  be  mur- 
dered by  the  Indians.  In  1595  the  Spaniards  occupied  the 
country  and  founded  San  Gabriel.  The  Catholic  worship  was 
established,  and  has  continued  almost  uninterruptedly  in  that 
territory  for  nearly  three  centuries.    In  an  outbreak  against  the 


60 


TBB  OATBULIO  OBUBOB  IN  TBB  UHITBD  WSArm, 


BpaniardB  at  i^e  olMe  of  the  seventeenth  century  many  of  the 
missionaries  perished.  Some  Dominican  priests  were  slidn  in 
Florida  in  1649  v/hile  trying  to  convert  the  natives;  and  Tristan 
de  Luna,  it  1559,  had  a  Christian  shrine  at  Pensacola.  When 
St  Augustine  was  begun,  in  1666,  a  Catholic  chapel  was  erected, 
and  from  that  time  the  services  of  the  Church  were  regularly 
offered.  At  St.  Helena,  on  Port  Royal  Sound,  and  later  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rappahannock,  there  were  Catholic  chapels  sm 
early  as  1671.  For  many  years  St  Augustine  had  its  Franciscan 
convent  and  chapels  within  and  without  the  walls.  Missions 
were  established  among  the  Indian  tribes  by  the  Jesuits  and 
then  by  the  Franciscans,  and  the  Timuquans,  Apalaches,  and 
other  tribes  embraced  Christianity.  In  1699  Pensacola  was 
founded  and  a  Catholic  church  erected  there;  but  the  Indian 
missions  were  finally  almost  extirpated  by  the  English  colonists 
of  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Many  devoted  missionaries  were  slain 
amid  their  pious  labors  ,tp  regenerate  the  aborigines. 

Texas  was  settled  by  the  Spaniards,  and  a  town  grew  up 
at  San  Antonio,  with  church  and  convent,  while  missionaries 
planted  the  cross  among  the  Indian  tribes  from  the  Rio  Grande 
to  the  Sabine.  The  Catholic  Church  was  the  only  Christian 
body  here  for  a  century  and  a  quarter. 

Upper  California  was  settled  about  the  time  of  our  Revolu- 
tion, and  the  Franciscans  established  a  series  of  Indian  missions 
whose  names  are  still  retained.  They  were  finally  destroyed  by 
the  greed  of  the  Mexican  government,  just  before  our  conquest 
of  the  country.  The  Catholic  Church  in  New  Mexico,  Texas, 
and  Califo^ia,  like  that  in  Florida,  has  its  lists  of  missionaries 
who  held  life  less  precious  than  the  cause  of  Christ. 

North  of  our  territory  lie  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia,  settled  at 
an  early  day  by  Catholic  France.  The  worship  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  was  celebrated  beneath  rude  temporary  structures  at 
Boone  Island,  in  Maine,  and  subsequently  at  Mount  Desert,  early 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  And  soon  after  the  Capuchin  Fa- 
thers had  missions  from  the  Kennebec  to  Gasp6.  The  very 
year  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  a  Fi'an- 
ciscan  priest  in  sandalled  feet  crossed  the  Niagara  River  from 
Canada,  and  preached  Christ,  and  him  ciacified,  to  the   In- 


IBB  OATBQUO  CBUBOB  IB  TBB  UBITBD  BTATHL 


Bt 


dians  of  Western  New  York.  A  few  years  later  two  Jesaiti 
net  the  Ohippewas  at  Sault  St.  Mary's,  by  tbe  outlet  of  the 
most  remote  of  the  Western  lakes,  and  one  of  them,  the  gentle 
yet  intrepid  Father  Jogues,  returned  to  die  by  the  tomahawk 
while  endeavoring  to  imbue  the  minds  of  the  Mohawks  with  the 
sweet  spirit  of  Christ.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century  there  were  Catholic  chapels  on  the  Kennebec  and  coast 
of  Maine,  from  the  Mohawk  to  the  Niagara,  at  Mackinaw,  Sault 
8t.  Mary*s,  Green  Bay,  and  Kaskaskia.  Early  in  the  last  cen* 
tury  Detroit  had  a  church.  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  and  Vincennes 
were  the  next  seats  of  Catholicity.  At  the  South  New  Orleans 
and  Mobile  were  founded  and  Catholic  churches  were  estab- 
lished.  Capuchins  laboring  in  the  settlements,  and  Jesuits  and 
mifisionary  priests  among  the  Indian  tribes.  The  Ursuline  nuns 
at  New  Orleans  began  to  labor  as  teachers  and  nuraes.  These 
churches  and  institutions,  from  Maine  to  Louisiana,  were  subject 
to  the  bishops  of  Quebec. 

In  the  English  colonies  Catholicity  began  its  life  in  Mary- 
land coeval  with  the  settlement,  two  Jesuit  priests  having 
formed  part  of  the  first  body  of  colonists,  taking  up  lands  and 
bringing  over  men  to  cultivate  them.  By  the  leader  of  this 
mission,  Father  Andrew  White,  Catholic  worohip  was  first  of* 
fered  on  St.  Clement's  Isle,  in  the  Potomac,  on  the  25th  of 
March,  1684.  Catholic  clergymen  were  for  many  years  the  only 
ministers  of  religion  in  Maryland,  and  most  of  the  settlers 
attended  their  church.  The  conversion  of  the  Indians  was  im« 
mediately  undertaken,  and  the  Piscataways  and  Potopacos,  with 
their  rulers,  became  Christians. 

Maryland  was  founded  on  the  broad  principles  of  religious 
freedom,  and  Puritans  expelled  from  Virginia  found  shelter 
there.  During  the  period  of  the  Commonwealth,  however,  the 
very  men  who  had  sought  an  asylum  in  Maryland  overthrew  the 
authority  of  Lord  Baltimore  and  passed  severe  penal  laws 
against  the  Catholics,  sending  all  the  priests  as  prisoners  to 
England.  In  a  few  years  they  returned  and  resumed  their 
labors  under  great  disadvantages.  Though  a  law  of  toleration 
was  passed  in  1649,  it  was  of  brief  duration.  In  1654  Catholics 
were  deprived  of  civil  rights,  and,  though  there  was  a  lull  during 


67 


TBB  OATHOLIO  OHUBOH  IN  TfiCB  UNITED  STATES. 


the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II.,  the  storm  broke  out  with 
renewed  fury  o^  the  accession  of  William  III.  The  Catholic 
worship  was  forbidden  by  law,  and  could  be  offered  only  in 
secrecy;  Catholics  were  loaded  with  double  taxes,  deprived  of 
all  power  of  voting  or  bearing  arms.  Yet  most  of  the  Catholics 
persevered,  the  Jesuits  and  Franciscans  having  chapels  in  houses, 
which  were  attended  by  the  people.  A  school  was  even  estab* 
lished  where  boys  were  fitted  for  a  college  training  in  Europe. 

During  the  control  of  James  as  duke  and  king  over  New 
York  liberty  of  conscience  prevailed  and  Catholics  began  to 
settle  there.  Several  clergymen  of  that  faith  came  over,  and  the 
settlers  who  adhered  to  it  were  thus  enabled  to  enjoy  the  con- 
solations of  religion.  A  Latin  school  was  also  opened,  the  first 
one  in  the  colony.  Leisler,  on  the  fall  of  James,  drove  nearly 
all  Catholics  out  of  New  York,  and  penal  laws  were  passed  to 
punish  any  Catholic  priest  who  entered  the  colony. 

When  Pennsylvania  began  to  be  settled  under  the  liberal 
policy  of  Penn,  Catholics  gradually  entered,  and  as  the  German 
immigration  began  a  considerable  number  adhered  to  the  faith 
planted  in  tlieir  fatherland  by  St.  Boniface.  As  early  as  1708 
the  Mass  was  regularly  offered  in  Philadelphia,  and  after  a  time 
St.  Joseph's  Church,  on  Willing's  Alley,  was  begun  by  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  when  they  assumed  the  care  of  the  mission.  A 
church  was  erected  at  an  early  period  at  Lancaster,  and  there 
were  mission-houses  at  Conewago  and  Goshenhoppen. 

In  other  colonies  there  were  a  few  scattered  Catholics,  but 
nowhere  in  numbers  sufiicient  to  establish  a  church.  The 
Acadians,  carried  off  by  the  British  government  from  Nova 
Scotia  in  1755  and  scattered  on  the  coast,  were  Catholics,  but 
only  at  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  did  they  find  a  welcome. 
At  Baltimore  they  were  attended  by  a  priest  and  founded  the 
first  Catholic  church. 

The  Catholics  ic  the  British  colonies  were  subject  to  a 
bishop  in  England,  known  as  the  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  London 
District. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  there  was  a  strong  feel- 
ing against  the  adherents  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Catholics, 
^owever,  without  exception,  rallied  to  the  cause  of  freedom. 


THB  OATHOLIO  OHUBOH  IN  THB  UNITED  STATB8. 


68 


The  Catholic  Indians  in  Maine,  under  their  chief,  6rono,  took  up 
the  cause  of  the  colonies ;  the  St.  Begis  Indians,  on  the  New 
York  border,  did  the  same ;  and  the  French  settlers  in  Illinois, 
with  the  Indians  around  them,  joined  Colonel  Clarke  and  gained  - 
the  West  for  the  United  States.  Two  regiments  of  Canadian 
Catholics  fought  on  the  American  side  during  the  whole  war, 
attended  by  their  chaplain,  a  priest  commissioned  by  the  Con* 
tinental  Congress. 

The  Continental  Congress  itself  and  the  Constitutional  Con* 
vention  had  Catholic  members,  who  were  honored  by  all. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolution  the  Catholics  in  the  United 
States  could  no  longer  be  subject  to  the  London  vicar-apostolic. 
Some  desired  a  bishop ;  others  thought  that  the  time  had  not 
yet  come.  Pope  Pius  VI^  in  1784,  appointed  as  prefect-apostolic 
the  Bev.  John  Carroll,  a  Maryland  patriot-priest,  who  had,  at  the 
desire  of  Congress,  gone  to  Canada  during  the  Revolution  to  try 
and  win  over  the  inhabitants  of  that  province. 

The  new  prefect  set  to  work  to  ascertain  what  scattered 
Catholics  there  were  in  the  country.  More  were  found  in  all 
parts  than  had  b^en  anticipated.  ThiB  priests  in  Pennsylvania 
had  before  the  war  visited  Catholics  at  the  Iron* Works  and  at 
Macopin,  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  Rev.  F.  Steenmeier  (Farmer), 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and  a  distinguished  mathimg 
tician,  quietly  visited  New  York  and  gathered  a  little  congre* 
gation. 

These  flocks  had  now  increased.  There  were  a  few  Catho* 
lies  even  in  Boston,  at  points  on  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk,  near 
Pittsburgh,  and  in  Kentucky.  Other  priests  came  over  from 
Europe,  and  these  scattered  bodies  began  to  organize  and  as- 
semble for  worship.  The  total  number  of  Catholics  in  the 
United  States  at  this  time  could  not  have  been  much  under 
forty  thousand,  including  the  French  and  Indians. 

The  reports  of  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  to  the  Pope  satisfied 
him  that  a  bishop  was  needed,  and  he  left  to  the  clergy  in  the 
country  the  nomination  of  a  suitable  candidate  and  the  selection 
of  his  see.  The  choice  fell  on  Dr.  Carroll,  who  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Baltimore  November  6,  1789,  and  his  diocese  embraced 
the  whole  United  Stc^tfV, 


64 


THB  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IS  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Bishop  Carroll  proceeded  to  England,  and  was  consecrated  in 
the  chapel  of  Lul worth  Castle,  August  15,  1790.  The  founder 
of  the  American  hierarchy  is  a  grand  figure  worthy  of  his  time. 
His  wisdom,  learning,  ability,  and  moderation  were  all  required 
to  build  up  the  Church.  Soon  after  his  return  to  the  United 
States  the  Revolution  in  France  drove  into  exile  many  worthy 
and  learned  priests,  not  a  few  of  whom  came  to  America  and 
aided  Bishop  Carroll  in  his  work.  Churches  were  begun  or 
completed  at  Boston,  New  York,  Albany,  Charleston,  Greens- 
burg,  and  other  points.  Carmelite  nuns  came  to  found  a  col* 
vent  of  their  order  in  Maryland;  the  Sulpitians  established 
a  seminary  in  Baltimore ;  a  college  was  begun  at  Georgetown, 
soon  followed  by  one  at  Enmiittsburg. 

In  1791  Bishop  Carroll  gathered  twenty  priests  in  a  synod  at 
Baltimore,  and  rules  were  adopted  suited  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
situation ;  but  the  duties  of  bishop  were  too  heavy  for  one  man. 
The  Bev.  Leonard  Neale  was  appointed  his  coadjutor  and  con* 
secrated  bishop  in  1800. 

This  was,  however,  but  a  temporary  relief,  and  in  1808 
bishops  were  appointed  for  Boston,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and 
Bardstown,  Ky.  At  this  time  his  diocese  contained  sixty-eight 
priests  and  eighty  churches.  Bishop  Cheverus,  appointed  Bishop 
of  Boston,  a  man  of  zeal,  charity,  and  gentleness,  had  all  New 
England  as  his  diocese,  and  won  the  affection  of  persons  of  every 
creed.  As  the  Bishop  of  New  York  died  at  Naples,  his  diocese 
languished,  and  many  important  works,  a  college,  and  a  convent- 
academy  were  abandoned.  Bishop  Egan,  of  Philadelphia,  had  as 
his  diocese  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  and  part  of  New  Jersey. 
He  met  with  difficulties  in  Philadelphia,  which  increased  under 
his  successor  and  were  detrimental  to  all  real  religious  life ;  but 
in  other  parts  of  the  diocese  religion  progressed.  The  diocese  of 
Bardstown  embraced  Kentucky,  with  Ohio  and  all  the  Northwest. 
Here  much  was  to  be  done ;  but  the  saintly  Flaget,  with  coad- 
jutors like  Nerinckx,  Badin,  Richard,  Salmon,  and  the  English 
Dominicans,  soon  revived  religion  in  places  where  it  seemed 
dying  out 

The  United  States  were  then  bounded  by  the  Mississippi. 
Jjouisiana,  which  enibraced  the  country  west  of  that  river,  had,  at 


THE  OATHOLIC  CHURCH  m  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


65 


the  request  of  the  Spanish  government,  been  formed  into  a  dio- 
cese  by  Pope  Pius  VI.,  who  in  1793  appointed  a  learned  and 
charitable  Cuban,  Rev.  Dr.  Pefialver,  Bishop  of  Louisiana.  When 
Louisiana  was  ceded  to  the  United  States,  in  1803,  the  bishopric 
was  vacant,  and  the  administration  of  the  Church  in  that  vast 
province  was  also  confided  to  Bishop  Carroll.  The  Church  there 
was  in  a  peculiar  condition,  organized  originally  under  the  Span* 
ish  system,  but  long  neglected.  Great  troubles  ensued,  but  the 
elevation  of  Rt.  Rev.  William  Louis  Dubourg  to  the  episcopate, 
and  the  establishing  of  sees  at  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis,  gave  a 
new  impulse  to  religion. 

The  rapidly-increasing  immigration  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon 
added  greatly  to  the  number  of  Catholics,  and  priests  were  called 
for  at  many  points.  The  first  effort  of  the  Catholic  priest  is  to 
erect  a  church  or  churches  in  the  district  assigned  to  him,  and  in 
time  to  add  schools.  As  a  diocese  is  formed  the  bishop  aids  his 
clergy  in  this  work,  and  endeavors  to.  establish  seminaries  for 
young  ladies,  orphan  asylums,  hospitals  under  the  care  of  Sisters 
belonging  to  some  religious  order  fitted  to  the  work,  and  colleges, 
high-schools,  »nd  a  theological  seminary.  The  religious  orders  of 
men  come  as  auxiliaries  to  the  secular, clergy  and  conduct  many 
of  the  colleges.  Each  diocese  thus  becomes  a  centre  of  such  in- 
stitutions. The  rapid  increase  of  Catholics  and  their  comparative 
poverty  have  made  this  work  d'fficult  and  onerous,  and  aid  has 
been  derived  from  organizations  like  the  Association  for  the  Pro- 
pagation of  the  Faith  in  France,  which  was  organized  originally 
to  aid  the  struggling  churches  in  America. 

The  original  dioceses,  with  the  growth  of  the  corntry,  soon 
required  division.  Out  of  that  of  Baltimore  have  grown  those  of 
Kichmond  (1821),  Charleston  (1820),  Savannah  (1850),  Wheeling 
(1850),  and  Wilmington  (1868),  and  North  Carolina  has  been 
formed  into  a  vicariate.  The  original  diocese  of  Philadeliphia 
has  been  divided  into  those  of  Philadelphia,  Scranton  (1868), 
Harrisburg  (1868),  Pittsburgh  and  Allegheny  (1843-76),  and 
Erie  (1853).  The  diocese  of  Newark  has  been  formed  to  embrace 
New  Jersey  (1853),  and  Trenton  (i881)  has  since  been  set  off 
[from  it.  New  York  contains  the  dioceses  of  New  York,  -Albany 
1(1847),  Brookljm  (1863),  Buffalo  (1847),  Rochester  (1868),  O^- 


56 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


m 


densburg  (1872).  Besides  the  see  of  Boston  there  are  in  New 
England  sees  at  Portland  (1855),  Manchester  (1884),  Burlington 
(1853),  S'pringfield  (1870),  Providence  (1872),  and  Hartford 
(1844).  In  the  West,  Kentucky  has  bishops  at  Louisville"  and 
Covington  (1853) ;  Ohio  an  archbishop  at  Cincinnati  (1822),  and 
bishops  at  Cleveland  (1847)  and  Columbus  (1868)  ;  Indiana  com- 
prises two  dioceses,  Vincennes  (1834)  and  Fort  Wayne  (1857) ; 
Michigan  those  of  Detroit  (1832),  Marquette  (1857),  and  Grand 
Bapids  (1882) ;  Illinois  has  an  archbishop  at  Chicago  (1844), 
and  bishops  at  Alton  (1857)  and  Peoria  (1877);  Wisconsin 
an  archbishop  at  Milwaukee  (1844),  and  bishops  at  La  Crosse 
and  Green  Bay  (1868);  in  Missouri  there  is  an  archbishop  at  St. 
Louis,  and  bishop  at  Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph  (1868-80);  in 
Arkansas  a  bishop  at  Little  Koct  (1843) ;  in  Iowa  bishops  at 
Dubuque  (1837)  and  Davenport  (1881),  in  Minnesota  at  St.  Paul 
(1850)  and  St.  Cloud  (1875),  in  Kansas  at  Leavenworth  (1877), 
in  Montana  at  Helena  (1884);  Nebraska,  Idaho,  Dakota,  and 
Colorado  are  vicariates-apostolic,  each  under  a  bishop.  In  the 
South  there  is  an  archbishop  at  New  Orleans ;  bishops  at  Nash- 
ville (1837),  at  Natchitoches  (1853),  Natchez  (1837),  Mobile 
(1824),  St.  Augustine  (1870),  Galveston  (1847),  San  Antonio 
(1874),  and  f  vicar-cpostolic  on  the  Rio  Grande.  Ancient  New 
Mexico  Las  its  archbishop  at  Santa  F6  (1850) ;  Arizona  a  vicar 
apostolic.  California  has  an  archbishop  at  San  Francisco  (1853), 
and  bishops  at  Monterey  (1850)  and  Grass  Valley  (1868).  Ore- 
gon has  its  archbishop  (1846),  Washington  Territory  a  bishop 
(1850),  and  Indian  Territory  a  prefect-apostolic. 

The  diocese  of  an  archbishop  and  those  of  his  sul^ragans  form 
a  province.  In  '^ach  province  from  time  to  time  Provincial 
Councils  are  held,  in  which  the  archbishop  presides  and  his  suf- 
fragans take  part,  with  their  theologians  and  the  heads  of  the 
religious  orders.  In  these  assemblies  decrees  are  adopted  for  the 
better  government  of  the  Church  in  the  province.  The  fir8t 
council  was  that  of  Baltimore  in  1829,  held  by  Archbishop  Whit 
field :  a  number  of  councils  were  subsequently  held  there,  and 
whej>  other  archbishoprics  were  erected  councils  were  held  at 
New  York,  Cincinnati,  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco, 
^d  in  Oregon.    Brides  these  there  have  been  three  Plenary 


THB  OATHOLIO  CHTTBCH  IN  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


57 


Gonncils,  imposing  assemblages  held  at  Baltimore,  attended  by 
all  the  archbishops  and  bishops  of  the  country. 

The  wonderfiil  growth  of  the  Catholic  Church  has  not  been 
without  opposition.  Many  saw  in  it  a  danger  to  republican  in- 
stitutions, and  violence  has  not  been  confined  merely  to  words  or 
publications.  Catholic  institutions  and  churches  have  been  de* 
stroyed  by  mobs. 

To  advocate  and  defend  their  doctrines  and  polity  the  Catho* 
lies  have  a  quarterly  review,  several  monthlies,  and  a  large  num* 
her  of  weekly  papers  in  English,  German,  French,  and  Spanish. 
Their  publishing  houses  issue  in  great  numbers  Bibles,  Testa- 
ments, Prayer-books,  doctrinal  and  controversial  as  well  as  de- 
votional works,  and  books  of  a  lighter  character  chiefly  for  the 
young. 

The  Catholic  body  is  composed  of  the  descendants  of  the 
colonial  settlera  and  more  recent  immigrants  and  their  offspring, 
with  members  joining  them  from  other  religious  bodies;  but 
they  have  no  missionary  societies  and  no  direct  machinery  for 
extending  their  doctrine  among  those  unacquainted  with  it. 
Many  of  its  prominent  men  have,  however,  been  converts — ^Arch- 
bishops Whitfield,  Eccleston,  Bay  ley.  Wood;  Bishops  Tyler, 
Wadhams,  Young,  Gilmo^  r,  Rosecrans ;  Orestes  A.  Brownson,  the 
philosopher ;  Halderaan,  the  philologist ;  Dr.  L.  Silliman  Ives, 
formerly  bishop  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church;  Father 
Hecker,  founder  of  the  Paulists;  Mother  Seton,  founder  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity.  ^ 

Among  other  distinguished  men  of  the  Catholic  bod}  must  be 
named  Cardinal  McCloskey,  the  first  American  member  of  the 
Sacred  College;  Archbishop  Hughes;  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of 
Baltimore,  a  great  theologian  and  Biblical  scholar ;  Bishop  Eng- 
land, of  Charleston ;  Bishop  E  i  raga.  Father  De  Smet ;  the  Abb6 
Rouquette  and  Rev.  A.  J.  Ryan,  gifted  poets ;  Bishop  Du  Bois, 
founder  of  Mount  St.  Mary's ;  Bishop  Brut6,  of  Vincennes  ;  Prince 
Galitzin,  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  Commodore  Barry,  Colonels  Moy- 
Ian  and  Vigo,  Generals  Rosecrans,  Stone,  ard  Newton. 

Keligious  orders  are  numerous  :  the  ancient  Benedictine  and 
Cistercian  monks;  the  Franciscan,  Dominican,  Carmelite,  and 
Augustiniaa  friars;   Jesuits,  Redemptorists,  Servites,  Qblatesj 


V    -..^ 


68 


T HB  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UMITBD  STATUS. 


Priests  of  the  Holy  Cross,  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion ;  Sulpitians,  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  Brothers  of 
Maiy ;  Xaverian,  Alexian,  and  Franciscan  Brothers ;  Benedictine, 
Carmelite,  Ursuline,  Visitation,  Dominican  nuns ;  Ladies  of  the 
Sacred  Heart ;  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Mercy,  and  many  others. 

At  the  present  writing  (1891),  the  Catholic  Church  in  the 
United  States  comprises  14  archbishops,  78  bishops,  8,382  priests, 
2,132  seminarians,  7,523  churches,  some  of  them,  like  the  cathedrals 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  magnificent  structures;  8,302 
chapels  and  stations,  102  colleges,  635  academies  for  young  ladies, 
3,194  parochial  schools  with  633,238  pupils,  535  asylums  and 
hospitals,  and  nearly  ten  million  adherents. 


•  I 


THE  VICARS-APOSTOLIC  OF  LONDON. 


The  Catholic  Church  throughout  the  world  is,  under  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  governed  by  bishops  ^  or  archbishops,  so  that 
almost  every  part  of  the  earth  .is  under  the  spiritual  care  of  one 
of  the  consecrated  successors  of  the  Apostles.  There  are  dioceses, 
governed  by  archbishops  and  bishops ;  vicariatas-apostolic,  under 
the  chaise  of  bishops  assigned  to  the  task ;  some  places  where 
the  faith  has  developed  less  are  committed  to  prefects-apostolic 
till  the  number  of  Catholics  requires  a  bishop's  care. 

The  British  colonies  which  were  formed  on  the  Atlantic  coast 
of  North  America  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  ex* 
tending  from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia,  were,  in  regard  to  the 
Catholics  dwelling  in  them,  under  the  charge  of  the  vicars-apos* 
tolic  in  England.  The  ^rst  of  these  was  Right  Rev.  William 
Bishop,  Bishop  of  Chalcedon,  Vicar-Apostolic  of  England  and 
Scotland,  consecrated  in  1628.  His  successor.  Right  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Smith,  a  native  of  Lincolnshire,  who  had  studied  at  Oxford, 
Rome,  and  Valladolid,  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Chalcedon  and 
vicar-apostolic  January  li,  1626.  He  was  in  office  when  a  cohi* 
munity  of  Catholics  settled  in  Maryland,  but  he  was  a  fugitive 
in  France  and  seems  to  have  taken  no  part  in  regulating  the 
discipline  of  the~  Church  in  America.  After  his  death  no  appoint- 
ment of  a  bishop  as  vicar-apostolic  for  England  was  made  till 
1686,  when  the  Right  Rev.  John  Leybume  was  consecrated  Bishop 
of  Adrumetum  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  England  on  September 
9, 1685,  He  had  been  president  of  Douay  College  and  vicar- 
general  to  Bishop  Smith.  He  suffered  imprisonment  under 
William  HI.,  and  died  piously  June  9,  1 702. 

In  1688  England  was  divided  into  four  vicariates,  and  Bishop 
Leybume  retained  that  of  the  London  Disi  net.  He  was  succeed- 
ed by  Right  Rev.  Bonaventure  Giffard,  consecrated  April  22, 1688, 
Bishop  of  Madaura  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  Midland  District. 
He  was  a  native  of  Wolverhampton.  Under  William  III.  h^ 
too,  was  imprisoned  for  a  year  in  Newgate.  He  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  American  mission,  where  the  superior  of  the  Jesuit 


m, '  ■ 


60 


HtM  VIOABS-APOBTOLIO  OF  LONDON. 


missions  was  his  vicar-general.  His  regulations  in  regard  to  the 
holidays  r.n*'.  fast-days  of  obligation  to  be  observed  in  the  colonies 
were  foP  »wed  till  the  erection  of  the  see  of  Baltimore.  Bishop 
Giffard  .led  at  Hammersmith  March  12,  1784.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Bight  Bev.  Benjamin  Petre,  Bishop  of  Prusa,  who  gov- 
erned the  vicariate  till  1768.  For  many  years,  however,  the 
great  burde^  fell  on  his  coadjutor,  the  zealous  Dr.  Bichard  Chal- 
loner.  Bishop  of  Debra,  consecrated  January  29,  1741.  This 
great  prelate,  who  prepared  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible  for 
English  Catholics,  gave  them  the  "  Catholic  Christian  Instructed," 
"Meditations,"  and  other  works  still  pnzed,  presided  as  vicar-apos- 
tolic for  forty  years,  and  his  care  extended  to  this  country  down 
to  the  Bevolution.  In  his  later  years  he  had  as  coadjutor  Bight 
Bev.  James  Talbotj  consecrated  Bishop  of  Birtha  August  24, 1759. 
Bishop  Challoner  died  in  January,  1781,  aged  nearly  ninety. 

When  the  Revolution  broke  out  Bishop  Talbot  ceased  to  hold 
intercourse  with  the  Catholic  priests  and  people  in  the  thirteen 
colonies.  Accordingly,  when  peace  was  made  and  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  United  States  acknowledged,  the  clergy  in  America 
applied  to  the  Pope  for  the  appointment  of  a  prefect-apostolic. 
The  attempt  of  the  Anglicans  to  obtain  a  bishop  in  colonial  days 
had  made  the  very  name  so  objectionable  that  Catholics  were 
afraid  to  ask  that  one  should  be  appointed  for  America. 

The  Rev.  John  Carroll  was  appointed  prefect-apostolic  in  1784. 
His  jurisdiction  did  not  extend  over  the  whole  territory  of  the 
United  States,  the  settlements  in  Michigan,  Indiana,  Illinois,  as 
well  as  Indian  missions  in  Maine,  Ohio,  and  New  York,  being 
stiil  under  the  charge  of  the  Bishop  of  Quebec.  At  this  time 
Florida  and  Louisiana,  embracing  all  west  of  the  Mississippi,  be- 
longed to  the  diocese  of  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Texas  was  part  of 
the  diocese  of  Guadalajara,  New  Mexico  of  that  of  Durango, 
while  California  was  governed  by  a  prefect-apostolic.  In  1789 
Pope  Pius  VI.  erected  the  see  of  Baltimore,  and  appointed  as  its 
first  bishop  the  Right  Rev.  John  Carroll,  who  had  been  selected 
by  the  American  clergy,  his  diocese  embracing  the  who!  j  territory 
of  the  republic  at  that  time — that  is  to  say,  the  portion  of  the 
United  States  of  our  day  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi,  with  the 
exception  of  Florida. 


*-^*^ 


CATHBmuL,  Baltimore. 


m 


■i"j.    ,,,^  ^  ..    fi^-^ 


M 


THE   CATHOLIC    HIERARCHY 


THE  UNITED   STATES. 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


MOST   REV.    JOHN   CARROLL,  D.D, 

Mrai  Bishop  and  Jirat  Archbishop  of  Baltimore, 

The  Most  Rev.  John  Carroll  is  the  origin  of  the  American 
episcopate,  as  first  bishop  and  subsequently  first  archbishop 
of  Baltimore,  all  dioceses  east  of  the  Mississippi  having  been 
formed  from  that  confided  to  his  care,  and  all  archbishops  and 
bishops  succeeding  to  some  part  of  his  authority.  He  was  emi- 
nently worthy  of  the  high  position,  and  stands  in  history  as  a 
noble  character,  maintaining  in  all  his  acts  the  greatest  episcopal 
dignity. 

John  Carroll  was  born  at  Upper  Marlborough,  Maryland, 
Januarys,  1735,  son  of  Daniel  Carroll,  a  native  of  Ireland, and 
Eleanor  Darnall.  He  began  his  studies  at  a  school  established  at 
Bohemia,  in  Maryland,  but  was  sent  ere  long  to  the  great  college 
at  St.  Omer,  in  Flanders.  During  his  stay  at  that  seat  of  learning 
he  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  a  religious  life,  and  entered  the 
Society  of  Jesus  at  Watton  September  17, 1753.  After  passing 
some  years  as  professor  he  made  his  divinity  course  and  was  or- 
dained in  1769.  While  at  the  College  of  Bruges  in  1773  the  es- 
tablishment was  seized  by  the  Austro-Belgian  government  and  the 
Fathers  expelled.  On  becoming  a  professed  Father  he  had  given 
up  all  his  property  to  his  brother,  and  was  now  thrown  on  the 
world  in  a  foreign  land.    He  returned  to  America  in  June,  1774, 


62 


TBB  OATHOUO  HIBBABOHT  IN  TBI  UMITID  STATMl 


and  began  his  labors  as  a  secular  priest  among  the  Oatholioi' 
in  Maryland  and  Virginia.  The  claims  of  the  colonists  for  their 
just  rights  were  ignored  by  the  English  king  and  parliament,  and 
war  was  imminent.  Carroll  had  from  the  outset  suppoiiied  the 
rights  of  America,  and  when  Congress  sent  delegates  to  Canada 
to  win  the  co>operation,  or  at  least  neutrality,  of  the  Catholic  peo- 
ple of  that  province,  the  Rev.  John  Carroll  accompanied  Frank- 
lin, Chase,  and  Carroll  to  aid  their  mission  by  ais  influence  as  a 
priest.  Bigotry  in  Congress  defeated  the  .mission,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Carroll  resumed  his  labors  at  Rock  Creek. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  the  clergy  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylva- 
nia were  anxious  to  be  independent  of  the  authorities  of  England, 
fearing  to  give  offence  to  their  fellow-citizens.  Accordingly  in 
1783  they  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  Holy  Father,  not  asking 
for  a  bishop,  but  for  a  superior  independent  of  the  Vicar- Apostolic 
of  London.  Benjamin  Franklin  at  Paris  strongly  recommended 
to  the  Nuncio  the  reverend  gentleman  whom  he  knew  so  well, 
and,  as  he  was  the  choice  of  the  American  clergy,  Pope  Pius  VI. 
in  June,  1784,  appointed  the  Rev.  John  Carroll  prefect-aposto- 
lic in  the  United  States.  Before  the  tidings  of  the  appointment 
or  the  document  ^  imparting  authority  had  reached  him,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Carroll  stood  forth  as  the  champion  of  the  Catholic  cause 
in  America  by  a  convincing  and  learned  reply  to  the  pamphlet  of 
an  apostate  priest  which  was  widely  circulated. 

As  prefect-apostolic  he  had  all  to  organize  and  supply ;  Catho- 
lics were  beginning  to  arrive  and  settle  in  the  country,  who  were 
.inxious  for  priests  to  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice  for  them.  Churches 
were  to  be  erected,  but  the  prefect  had  no  clergymen  and  no 
funds  at  his  disposal.  The  old  missionaries  in  the  country  were 
sinking  under  age  and  infirmities.  Rev.  Dr.  Carroll  visited  the 
missions,  laboring  earnestly  himself  and  doing  all  in  his  power  to 
supply  the  wants  of  a  flock  scattered  over  the  country.  He  began 
the  erection  of  a  college  at  Georgetown,  now  the  oldest  Cath- 
olic institution  of  learning.  A  Jubilee  was  for  the  first  time  pro- 
claimed and  the  sacrament  of  Confirmation  administered.  After 
visiting  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York  he 
made  a  report  to  the  Congregation  de  Propaganda  Fide  on  the 
condition  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States.    It  was  soon  evi- 


DlOOm  Of  BALTmOBl. 


68 


dent  that  •  bishop  with  full  powers  was  needed,  and  in  1788  the 
clergy  again  addressed  the  Pope  and  solicited  the  erection  of  an 
episcopal  see,  asking  to  be  permitted  to  propose  a  candidate.  The 
Holy  See,  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  looked  far  into  the  future ; 
the  see  of  Baltimore  was  erected  by  the  bull  of  Pope  Pius  VI., 
dated  November  6, 1789,  and  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  with  great  joy 
confirmed  the  choice  of  the  American  clergy  and  appointed  as 
first  bishop  the  Rev.  John  Carroll,  v/hose  virtue,  wisdom,  and  pm* 
dence  had  become  so  well  known. 

On  receiving  his  bulls  the  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  proceeded,  to  Eng* 
land  and  was  consecrated  bishop  by  the  learned  Benedictine, 
the  Right  Rev.  Charles  Walmesley,  then  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the 
London  District.  The  ceremony  took  place  in  the  chapel  of  Lul* 
worth  Castle,  August  15, 1790.  Before  he  returned  to  America  he 
was  gladdened  by  a  proposal  from  the  superior  of  the  Sulpitians,  a 
body  devoted  to  educating  young  men  for  the  priesthood,  to  send 
some  of  their  members  to  America.  On  his  return  he  visited  the 
cities  and  towns  where  Catholic  congregations  had  risen  up,  ex* 
tending  his  episcopal  journey  as  far  as  Boston,  where  he  received 
an  appeal  from  the  Catholic  Indians  of  Maine.  His  bulls  made 
his  diocese  co-extensive  with  the  United  States,  and  the  French 
settlements  in  the  West,  heretofore  dependent  on  the  Bishop  of 
Quebec,  now  appealed  to  him  for  aid.  Yet  in  all  his  vast  dio- 
cese he  had  few  priests  and  not  a  single  institution  of  learning  or 
charity.  God,  who  in  his  providence  allowed  vice  and  irreligion 
to  scourge  France,  made  the  time  of  trial  beneficial  to  England 
and  the  United  States.  Bishop  Carroll  received  a  body  of  Sul- 
pitians, many  pious  and  devoted  secular  priests  from  France,  a 
colony  of  English  Dominican  Fathers,  a  community  of  Carme- 
lite nuns,  another  of  Poor  Clares.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  give 
priests  to  New  England,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  and  Illinois.  A 
seminary  was  opened,  and  one  of  the  first  ordained  from  it  was 
the  Russian  Prince  Dmitri  Galitzin,  who  became  the  apostle  of 
the  AUeghanies.  On  the  7th  of  November,  1791,  he  convened 
his  clergy  in  a  diocesan  synod  at  Baltimore.  Twenty-two  priests, 
American,  English,  French,  Irish,  German,  met  to  concert 
plans  for  a  uniform  discipline  in  the  services  of  religion,  for  the 
support  of  the  clergy,  and  the  establishment  of  new  churches. 


m 


64 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIBBAItOHY  IK  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


The  statutes  drawn  up  by  Bishap  Carroll  and  adopted  in  this 
synod  have  ever  since  won  admiration.  The  impulse  given  to 
religion  by  the  appointment  of  a  bishop  was  marked ;  but  in  th« 
rapid  growth  of  the  Church  came  some  sore  trials  to  Bight  Rev. 
Dr.  Carroll.  At  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  German  congrega- 
tions defied  his  authority ;  in  other  parts  priests  without  faculties 
usurped  churches,  and  some  gave  scandal  instead  of  edification. 
It  was  evident  that  so  vast  a  diocese  was  beyond  the  power  of 
any  one.  Bishop  Carroll  soon  solicited  the  appointment  of  a 
coadjutor  and  the  division  of  the  diocese;  but  the  priest  first 
selected  as  coadjutor  died  in  Philadelphia  of  yellow-fever,  a  vic- 
tim to  charity,  and  Bishop  Carroll  received  new  responsibilities 
in  the  charge  of  some  West  India  islands,  and  a  few  years  later 
in  the  administration  of  the  diocese  of  Louisiana.  In  1800  the 
Bight  Bev.,  Leonard  Neale  was  consecrated  coadjutor-bishop,  to 
the  great  joy  of  the  founder  of  the  American  hierarchy.  Guid- 
ed by  this  pious  director,, Miss  Alice  Lalor  soon  after  founded 
irt  Georgetown  the  first  monastery  in  the  United  States  of  Visi- 
tation Nuns.  In  1809  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Seton,  a  convert  to  the  faith, 
founded  at  Emmittsburg  the  first  American  house  of  Sisters  of 
Charity.  The  religious  communities  thus  begun  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  great  Bishop  Carroll  flourish  to  this  day,  the  Sis- 
ters of  Charity  numbering  more  than  a  thousand.  In  1^09  the 
Bev.  John  Du  Bois  began  in  a  log  cabin  at  Emmittsburg  a  new  in- 
stitution of  learning,  Mount  St.  Mary's,  which  as  a  theological 
seminary  and  a  college  has  sent  forth  for  more  than  three-quar- 
ters of  a  century  well-trained  priests  and  accomplished  laymen. 
In  1  06  Bishop  Carroll  was  so  encouraged  that  he  laid  the  "foun- 
datioisof  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore. 

Gieat  as  was  the  assistance  rendered  by  Bishop  Neale,  Bishop 
Carroll  was  sensible  that  the  interest  of  religion  demanded  a 
division  of  his  diocese.  Wherever  a  priest  could  be  sent  Catho- 
lics before  unheard  of  gathered  around  the  altar  he  reared.  On 
his  appointment  as  prefect  Dr.  Carroll  estimated  the  Catholics 
in  the  country  at  24,500,  with  twenty-four  priests,  some  of  them 
'superannuated,  in  1808  he  could  count  sixty-eight  priests,  eighty 
churches,  several  religioUvS  orders,  and  three  colleges.  Pope  Piu8 
VII.,  by  his  brief  of  April  8,  180S,  raised  Baltimore  to  the  rank 


DIOOESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


66 


of  a  metFopolitan  see,  and,  dividing  the  diocese,  founded  new 
sees  at  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Bardstown,  appoint* 
iug  to  New  York  Father  Richard  Luke  Ooncanen,  a  Dominican 
highly  esteemed  at  Rome,  and  to  the  other  sees  prieiBts  already 
known  by  their  zealous  labors  in  America.  Unable  at  once  to 
hold  a  provincial  council.  Archbishop  Carroll  with  his  suffragans 
adopted  a  series  of  wise  regulations  which  for  years  guided  the 
bishops  of  the  United  States. 

The  diocese  of  Baltimore,  as  reduced,  embraced  Maryland^ 
Virginia,  and  the  Southern  States  to  the  Gulf  and  the  Mississippi 
Devoting  his  remaining  strength  and  energy  to  build  up  the  house 
of  the  Lord  in  this  field.  Archbishop  Carroll  lived  to  see  consoling 
fruits.  He  beheld,  too,  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  Maryland  roorgan- 
ized  with  the  approval  of  the  Holy  2See,  and  the  mission  increased 
by  a  number  of  learned  fathers  from  Europe,  and  had  the  joy  of 
living  to  see  Pope  Pius  VIJ.  formally  restore  the  Society,  to  which 
he  had  so  long  belonged,  by  his  bull  of  August  7, 1814.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  year  1815  the  aged  patriarch  of  the  Church  in 
America  showed  by  his  failing  health  that  death  was  approaching. 
He  calmly  awaited  the  last  struggle,  fortified  by  the  sacraments, 
and  expired  Sunday,  December  3, 1815.  His  pastoral  letters  show 
the  bishop  caring  for  his  flock ;  his  controversies  with  Wharton 
and  others  his  ability  in  defending  the  faith  against  assaults. 


MOST  REV.  LEONARD  NEALE, 

Second  Archbishop  cf  Baltimore. 

Leonabd  Neale  was  bom  at  Port  Tobacco,  in  Maryland,  on 
me  15th  of  October,  1746,  of  a  family  which  had  \'ov  more  than 
a  century  maintained  the  faith  in  that  province.  Hios  pi'>us 
mother  sent  her  children  to  Europe  to  obtain  an  education,  and 
Leonard,  after  his  course  at  St.  Omer's,  resolved  to  embrace  the 
religious  life,  as  his  brothers  and  sister  had  done.  After  study- 
ing at  Bruges  and  Liege  he  was  ordained,  and  exercised  the  min- 
ittry  till  the  suppression  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.    He  then  went 


66 


TBB  OATHOLIO  HIBRABOHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATEa 


to  England,  but^  hearing  that  priests  were  needed  in  Demerara, 
sailed  to  that  province  and  labored  there  as  a  missionary  among 
whites,  negroes,  and  Indians.  Beturning  to  Maryland  in  1788,  he 
took  charge  of  a  mission  at  Port  Tobacco ;  but  when  the  yellow- 
fever  in  1793  carried  off  two  priests  in  Philadelphia — ^Rev.  Mr. 
Gressel,  who  had  been  named  coadjutor-bishop,  and  the  able  con- 
troversialist, the  Rev.  Father  Fleming,  of  the  order  of  St.  Dominic, 
died  amid  their  apostolic  labors — ^Bev.  Mr.  Neale  hastened  to  the 
spot,  and  during  that  and  subsequent  visitations  of  the  terrible 
disease  labored  with  seal  and  courage.  He  was  not  only  pt  stor  in 
Pennsylvania,  but  also  vicar-^  ,neral  for  that  and  the  other  Northern 
States.  At  Philadelphia  Miss  Alice  Lalor  became  his  penitent, 
and,  under  his  direction  and  advice,  in  time  founded  the  first  com- 
munity of  Visitation  Nuns  in  America.  In  1798  Bishop  Carroll 
appointed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Neale  president  of  Georgetown  College. 
His  experience  in  colleges  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  Europe  en- 
abled him  to  give  the  new  institution  a  solid  and  tried  system. 
He  was  at  last  selected  as  the  coadjutor  of  Bishop  Carroll,  and 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Gortyna,  December  7,  1800.  Retain- 
ing the  position  of  president  of  Georgetown  College,  he  was  also 
director  of  the  Visitation  Nuns  and  of  the  Poor  Clares. 

He  took  part  in  the  meeting  of  the  suffragans  after  the 
division  of  the  diocese,  and  in  the  wise  statutes  framed  on  that 
occasion.  On  the  death  of  Archbishop  Carroll,  December  3, 
1815,  he  succeeded  to  the  metropolitan  see  of  Baltimore,  and 
received  the  pallium  from  Pope  Pius  VII.  in  the  following 
year.  One  of  his  first  steps  was  to  solicit  from  the  Holy  See  a 
formal  approval  of  the  Visitation  community  founded  under  his 
direction. 

The  aged  archbishop  was  not  free  from  trials.  The  con- 
dition of  the  Church  in  Philadelphia  and  in  South  Carolina  in- 
volved him  in  troubles  that  weighed  heavily  on  him.  Anxious 
to  secure  a  successor,  who  might  be  better  able  to  bear  the  bur- 
den of  the  archiepiscopate,  he  earnestly  besought  Bishop  Cheverus, 
of  Boston,  to  become  his  coadjutor;  but,  yielding  to  the  advice 
of  that  great  bishop,  finally  selected  a  Sulpitian  of  learning  and 
ability,  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Mar^chal,  who  was  appointed  Bishop 
of  Stauropolis,  July  24,  1817.    Before  the  bulls  arrived  from 


DIOOEdB  OF  BALTIMORB. 


67 


jRome  the  venerable  archbisliop  had  expired  in  his  residence 
adjoining  the  Visitation  Convent  at  Georgetown,  June  15,  1817. 
The  Sisters  vlaimed  his  body  as  a  sacred  deposit,  and  it  was  in* 
terred  beneath  the  altar  of  their  convent  chapel,  where  it  re- 
mains to  this  day. 


••SB 

^  -'•*a 


MOST  REV.  AMBROSE  MAR^OHAL, 

Third  Arohhishcp  of  Baltimore, 

Ambrose  MabiAohal  was  bom  in  1768  at  a  place  called 
Ingre,  near  Orleans,  France.  His  family  were  able  to  give  him 
the  highest  education,  but,  while  all  was  tending  to  irreligion 
and  impiety,  your>g  Jtl'r^chal  resolved  to  enter  the  ecclesiastical 
state.  He  had  s  ?  ^^i  his  theology  under  the  Sulpitians  and 
was  ready  for  ordination  when  the  blow  fell  on  the  Church. 
He,  however,  contrived  to  be  ordained  secretly  at  Bordeaux,  and 
the  same  day  embarked  for  America,  reaching  Baltimore  June 
24,  1792.  He  entered  on  his  priestly  career  by  missionary 
labors  in  St.  Mary's  County  and  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  but  on 
the  organization  of  St.  Mary's  College  in  1799  became  profes- 
sor of  theology.  In  1803  the  superior  of  St.  Sulpioe  recalled 
him  to  France,  where  he  filled  the  chair  of  theology  in  several 
seminaries.  In  1812,  to  his  own  Joy,  he  was  assigned  to  his  old 
position  in  Baltimore.  He  refused  the  see  of  Philadelphia,  to 
which  he  had  been  nominated ;  but  when,  at  the  urgent  request 
of  Archbishop  Neale  and  Bishop  Chevsrus,  he  was  appointed 
coadjutor  of  Baltimore,  he  yielded.  The  bulls  arrived  after  the 
death  of  the  venerable  Doctor  Neale,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mar^chal' 
was  consecrated  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  by  Bishop  Cheverus, 
j  December  14,  1817. 

His  great  predecessors  had  suffered  much  from  unworthy 

I  priests,  accepted  from  abroad  without  full  knowledge  of  their 

character.    Archbishop  Mar6chal  had  a  body  of  priests  many  of 

whom  had  been  trained  for  the  American  mission,  but  he  encoun- 

Itered  opposition  from  lay  trustees;,  who  in  not  a  few  places, 


S'9 


■  "-isl 

'-'',1 

■d 


68 


THB  CATHOLIC  HIERAROHT  IN  THB  UNITBD  STATB& 


misled  by  intriguing  men,  claimed  the  right  to  appoint  priests, 
and  who  wished  to  male  the  pastors  of  God's  Church  their 
hired  servants.  Tht  adjusting  of  questions  as  to  the  legal  title 
of  property  belonging  to  the  old  Jesi^it  missions  also  i  nvolved 
diiBculties  of  no  slight  r*    nent. 

In  1820  the  diodese  Baltimore  was  again  divided,  and  an 
episcopal  see  was  erect  at  Charleston,  the  diocese  embracing 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  and  another  see  &t  Richmond,  with 
Virginia  for  its  diocese.  The  newly-appointed  Bishop  of  Bich- 
mond  found  such  scanty  resources  in  Virginia  that,  after  a  year's 
straggle,  he  was  translated  to  a  see  in  Ireland.  Archbishop  Ma- 
r^chal  then  governed  the  diocese  of  Bichmond  as  administrator- 
apostolic. 

He  completed  and  dedicated  his  cathedral  in  May,  1821,  the 
fine  altar  being  a  gift  from  priests  who  had  been  his  pupils  in 
French  seminaries.  One  of  his  great  objects  was  to  convene  a 
Provincial  Council  in  the  United  States,  that  by  united  counsel 
the  bishops  might  give  stability  to  the  hoUse  of  God.  He 
drew  up  the  plans  for  one,  and,  proceeding  to  Bome  in  1821, 
took  steps  to  secure  so  desirable  a  synod.  Briefs  regarding  the 
future  council  were  issued  by  Pope  Pius  VII.  in  1823  and  by 
Pope  Leo  XII.  in  1828,  but  Archbishop  Mar^chal  did  not  live  to 
see  the  council  assemble. 

A  3ommunity  of  colored  Sisters  had  been  founded  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Joubert,  known  as  Sisters  of  Providence,  and  in  1825 
their  association  was  approved  by  Archbishop  Mar^chal.  In 
1826  he  visited  Canada  in  the  interest  of  religion,  and  on  his 
return,  while  at  Emmittsburg,  began  to  disclose  symptoms  of 
dropsy  of  the  chest.  He  at  once  forwarded  to  Bome  the  names 
of  three  whom  he  recommended  for  the  position  of  coadjutor. 
The  Pope,  by  bulls  of  January  8,  1828,  appointed  the  Bev. 
James  Whitfield  Bishop  of  Apollonia  and  coadjutor  with  the 
right  of  succession. 

Archbishop  Mar^chal,  feeling  that  the  work  of  the  diocese 
'  would  be  ably  continued,  dismissed  all  care  and  prepared  for 
death.  Fortified  by  all  the  consolat'ons  of  religion,  he  expired 
calmly  on  the  2dth  of  January,  X828. 


OIOOESB  OF  BAL'nMORB. 


09 


MOST  EEV.  JAMES  WHITFIELD, 
Fov/rth  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

Jam£8  Whitfield  was  born  in  Liverpool  November  3,  1770, 
and  on  the  death  of  his  father  set  out  with  his  mother  for  Italy, 
in  hope  that  the  climate  would  benefit  her  health.  M'hile  re- 
tuniing  to  England  they  were  detained  at  Lyons  by  one  of 
Napoleon's  decrees  against  the  English  government.  Here  he 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Mar^chal,  and, 
entering  the  seminary,  was  ordained  priest  in  1809,  his  good 
mother  living  to  see  her  son  minister  at  the  altar.  Returning 
to  England,  he  served  for  Home  years  as  parish  priest  at  Crosby, 
but,  on  the  pressing  invitation  of  Archbishop  Mar^chal,  came  to 
America  in  the  autumn  of  1817.  As  one  of  the  pastors  of  the 
cathedral  he  showed  great  zeal,  prudence,  and  ability.  In  the 
care  of  the  negroes  he  was  especially  interested. 

He  was  appointed,  by  bull  of  January  8,  1 828,  Bishop  of 
Apollonia  and  coadjutor  of  Baltimore ;  but  as  the  document  did 
not  arrive  during  the  lifetime  of  Archbishop  Mar^chal,  he  was 
consecrated  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  by  succession  on  Whit- 
sunday, May  25,  1828,  the  venerable  Bishop  Flaget  officiating. 
The  pallium  reached  him  the  next  year. 

Archbishop  Whitfield  made  a  careful  and  strict  visitation  in 
the  diocese  of  Baltimore  and  in  that  of  Richmond,  of  which  he 
was  administrator.  He  submitted  to  the  Holy  See  his  learned 
predecessor's  plan  for  a  Provincial  Council,  and,  on  its  approval, 
proceeded,  in  compliance  with  the  instructions,  to  summon  his 
suifragans  to  meet  him  in  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore. 

The  fii*st  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  forms  an  epoch  in 
the  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States.  It 
was  held  a  little  more  than  half  a  century  after  the  day  which, 
by  declaring  the  colonies  free  and  independent  States,  liberated 
the  Catholics  and  their  Church  from  the  oppressive  laws  of  Eng- 
land. .  During  that  half-century  the  Church,  which,  after  the 
Peace  of  Paris,  was  represented  by  Dr.  Carroll  as  having  some 
twenty-five  thouspiiu  members  and  twenty-five  priests,  h^d  ns^n 


70 


THE  OATHOUO  mm^ZjOBY  IN  THB  UNITBD  STATES. 


r- 


to  a  body  of  half  s.  inillion  in  a  population  of  twelve  millions. 
In  the  limits  of  the  original  diocese  of  Baltimore  there  were 
seven  bishops,  one  hundred  and  sixty  priests,  nearly  as  many 
churches,  three  colleges,  eight  convents,  and  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  Catholics;  while  the  dioceses  of  New  Orleans, 
St.  Louis,  and  Mobile  gave  two  more  bishops,  more  than  eighty 
priests,  some  ten  convents,  a  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
of  the  faithful.  It  was  ess(>  lal  to  adopt  uniform  regulations 
for  the  spiritual  goveinment  of  this  large  and  rapidly  increasing 
body,  which  had  seminaries,  colleges,  schools,  but  could  not  ob- 
tain churches  and  priests  for  all  who  desired  them. 

The  council  opened  in  the'  cathedral  of  Baltimore  on  Sun- 
day,  October  4,  1829.  Beside  Archbishop  Whitfield,  who  pre- 
sided, there  sat  in  this  memorable  synod  the  venerable  Bish- 
op Flaget  of  Bardstovvs ;  the  able  and  eloquent  Bishop  Eng- 
land, of  Charleston ;  Bishop  Edward  Fenwick,  of  Cincinnati ; 
Bishop  Bosati,  of  St.  Louis,  administrator  of  New  Orleans ;  and 
Bishop  Benedict  Fenwick,  of  Boston.  Bishop  Du  Bois  and 
Bishop  Portier,  of  Mobile,  were  in  Europe,  and  Bishop  David, 
coadjutor  of  Bardstown,  was  unable  from  ill  health  to  attend. 
Philadelphia  was  represented  by  the  administrator.  Very  Rev. 
William  Mathews.  The  superior  of  the  Jesuits,  the  visitor  of 
St.  Sulpice,  and  several  theologians  attended.  Eminent  lawyeni, 
called  in  to  consult  in  regard  to  the  tenure  of  church  property 
in  the  eye  of  the  civil  law,  were  struck  by  the  grave  and  vene- 
rable assembly  of  the  superiors  of  the  Catholic  Church,  while  to 
the  people  at  large  the  pomp  and  ceremonial  seemed  to  revive 
the  ages  of  faith  and  give  earnest  of  future  triumphs  for  the 
Church.  Thirty-eight  decrees  were  adopted  regulating  the  ap- 
pointment of  pastors  and  other  priests,  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments,  the  holidays  and  fasts  of  obligation,  the  tenure  of 
Church  property,  the  establishment  of  schools,  and  the  diffusion 
of  Catholic  books  and  periodicals.  The  decrees  were  trans- 
mitted to  his  Holiness  Pope  Pius  VIIL  and  formally  approved — 
the  basis  of  the  law  for  the  Church  in  the  United  States. 

The  council  was  followed  by  consoling  results.  Archbishop 
Whitfield  wrote  in  1832:  "The  wonders,  if  I  dare  so  eicpress 
myself,  that  have  been  operated  and  are  daily  operated  in  m^ 


DI00B8B  OF  BALTIMOBB. 


71 


diocese  are  a  source  of  consolation  to  me  amid  the  difficulties 
against  which  I  have  still  often  to  struggle."  ''  A  truly  Catho- 
lic spirit  distinguishes  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia. 
.  .  .  Conversions  of  Protestants  in  health  are  also  numerous, 
and  not  a  week,  in  some  seasons  not  a  day,  passes  without  our 
priests  being  called  to  the  bedside  of  some  invalid  who  wishes 
to  abjure  error  and  die  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church." 

The  terrible  Asiatic  cholera  in  that  year  visited  the  United 
States.  Archbishop  Whitfield,  with  his  priests  and  Sisters,  was 
untiring  in  devotion  to  the  afflicted.  The  diocese  lost  two 
priests  by  death,  and  two  Sisters  died  of  cholera  while  attending 
the  sick  in  the  hospital,  and  a  colored  Oblate  Sister  of  Provi- 
dence was  another  victim  of  charity. 

The  next  year  the  archbishop  obtained  of  the  Holy  See  a 
dispensation  for  the  United  States  from  the  usual  abstinence 
on  Saturdays  and  Rogation  Days,  many  of  the  poorer  Catho- 
lics at  service  finding  it  difficult  to  obtain  necessary  foc^  ^u 
those  days. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  1833,  Archbishop  Whitfield  opened 
the  Second  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore,  which  was  attend- 
ed by  Bishop  David,  coadjutor  of  Bardstown,  representing  the 
aged  Bishop  Flaget ;  and  also  by  Bishops  England  of  Charleston, 
Rosati  of  St.  Louis,  Du  Bois  of  New  York,  Portier  of  Mobile, 
Kenrick,  administi'ator  of  Philadelphia,  R^s4  of  Detroit,  and 
Purcell  of  Cincinnati.  The  two  last  were  consecrated  a  few 
days  before  the  session  of  the  council,  Dr.  Purcell  succeeding 
Bishop  Fenwick,  who  had  died  of  cholera  while  visiting  his 
diocese.  The  see  of  New  Orleans  was  vacant.  Bishop  de  Neck- 
ere  having  died  in  Ser '^ember.  In  this  council  a  plan-  was 
adopted  for  the  fut"iie  appointments  to  the  episcopate,  and 
the  boundaries  of  the  dioceses  definitely  fixed.  The  council  also 
took  steps  in  regard  to  missions  among  the  Indian  tribes  and 
among  the  negroes  in  Liberia.  The  establishment  of  a  theo- 
logical seminary  in  each  diocese  was  advised,  and  a  committee 
appointed  to  revise  books  used  in  Catholic  schools.  The  de- 
crees of  the  council  were  duly  approved  at  Rome,  and  a  see 
established  at  Vincennes,  as  requested  by  the  fathers  of  the 
council.  ' 


■'fii^:  ■' 


72 


THl  OATBOLIO  HIBRABOHT  IN  THB  UKXijfiD  STATH& 


¥■■' 


Archbishop  Whitfield  devoted  hie  large  private  fortur.e  to 
the  good  of  his  diocese,  completing  the  tower  of  the  cathedral 
and  the  archiepiscopal  residence.  He  built  at  his  own  cost  the 
church  of  St  James,  laying^  the  comer-stone  May  1,  1888,  and 
consecrating  it  on  the  first  of  May,  1884.  His  health,  was  then 
rapidly  failing.  Visits  to  medicinal  springs  proved  of  no  avail, 
and  he  returned  to  his  episcopal  city  to  prepare  for  the  close  of 
his  well-spent  life.  Fortified  by  the  sacraments  and  surrounded 
by  his  coadjutor  and  clergy,  to  whom  he  had  been  a  father  and  a 
model,  he  died  piously  October  1' ,  1884. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  the  dioceses  of  Baltimore  and  Rich- 
mond contained  sixty-eight  priests,  about  sixty-four  churches  or 
chapels,  three  colleges,  four  academies  or  boarding-schools  for 
girls,  an  orphan  asylum,  an  infirmary,  and  several  schools. 


MOST  REV.  SAMUEL  EOCLESTON, 

Mfth  Arohhiahop  of  BalHmore, 

Samuel  Eooleston  was  bom  in  Kent  County,  Maryland,  on 
the  27th  of  June,  1801,  of  parents  belonging  to  the  Episcopal 
Church,  but,  his  widowed  mother  marrying  a  Catholic,  he  was 
led  by  the  examples  he  saw  to  embrace  the  faith  while  a  pupil 
of  St.  Mary's  College.  He  resolved,  too,  to  devote  his  life  to 
the  ministry,  and,  having  made  his  divinity  studies  in  the  semi- 
nary, was  ordained  April  24,  1825.  To  ground  himself  still 
more  in  sacred  learning  he  spent  some  time  at  Issy,  and,  after 
visiting  England  and  Ireland,  returned  to  his  native  country. 
He  was  appointed  vice-president  and  soon  became  president  of 
St.  Mary's  College,  and  in  1834  was  elected  Bishop  of  Ther- 
mia  and  coadjutor  to  Archbishop  Whitfield,  by  whom  he  was 
consecrated  on  the  14th  day  of  September.  In  little  more  than 
a  month  he  had  the  sad  task  of  chanting  the  requiem  for  his 
metropolitan.  Archbishop  Eccleston  came  to  his  high  duties 
in  the  vigor  of  early  manhood,  and  gave  them  the  energy  of  his 
life.     Under  his  encouragement  the  Visitation  nuns  increased 


s 


JIOOBSB  OF  BALTIMOUb 


7$ 


"n 


the  number  of  their  academies,  Brothers  of  St.  Patrick  came 
to  direct  parochial  schools  for  boys,  and  the  German  Catholics 
were  confided  to  the  care  of  the  sons  of  St.  Alphonsus,  the  Re* 
demptorist  Fathers ;  the  preparatory  college  of  St.  Charles  for 
young  levites  was  founded ;  soon  after  the  Lazarists,  in  1860, 
began  their  labors  in  the  diocese  of  Baltimore,  and  the  Brotheis 
of  the  Christian  Schools  established  a  novitiate  of  their  order; 
so  that  the  diocese  has  ever  since  been  the  hive  for  the  great 
missionary  body  of  Redemptorists  and  that  excellent  teaching 
body,  the  sons  of  the  Venerable  La  Salle. 

Nor  wa.  it  only  in  his  own  diocese  that  his  influence  was 
felt.  It  was  the  privilege  of  Archbishop  Eccleston  to  preside 
in  no  fewer  thau  five  provincial  councils  as  metropolitan  of  the 
Church  in  the  United  States.  In  the  third  council,  which  met 
April  16,  1887,  eight  bishops  sat  with  the  metropolitan;  in 
the  fourth,  which  opened  May  17,  1840,  the  number,  by  the 
increase  of  sees,  had  risen  to  twelve.  This  council  addressed 
letters  of  sympathy  to  the  Bishop  of  Cologne  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Posen,  who  were  suffering  under  the  merciless  iron  hand 
of  Prussian  intolerance.  This. council  provided  for  the  trans- 
mission of  property  held  by  a.  bishop  to  his  successor,  the  laws 
of  the  several  States  not  recognizing  the  bishop  as  a  corporation 
sole.  One  of  the  important  decrees  of  the  fifth  council,  which 
opened  May  14.  1843,  was  that  which  cut  off  from  the  sacra- 
ments any  Catholic  who  dared  remarry  after  obtaining  a  divorce 
under  State  laws.  The  memorable  act  of  the  sixth  council 
was  the  decree  by  which  the  twenty-three  bishops  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  in  this  country  chose  "  The  Blessed  Virgin  conceived 
without  sin  "  as  the  patroness  of  the  United  States. 

When  the  revolutionary  storms  drove  Pope  Pius  IX.  from 
his  sacred  city.  Archbishop  Eccleston,  in  January,  1849,  invited 
him  to  Baltimore  to  preside  in  the  Seventh  Provincial  Council. 
That  synod  met  May  6,  1849,  and  was  attended  by  twenty-five 
bishops.  It  urged  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the  Imma- 
culate Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  By  this  time 
the  number  of  sees  made  a  division  of  the  province  desirable. 
Archbishoprics  were  created  at  New  York  and  Cincinnati. 

Archbishop  Eccleston  was  stricken  with  a  fatal  illness  ia 


74 


THE  OATflOLIO  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


April,  1861,  while  residing  at  Georgetown,  in  a  house  adjoining 
the  monastery  of  the  Visitation.  Here  he  died  piously  April 
22,  1861.  His  body  was  removed  to  his  episcopal  city,  honored 
by  obsequies  of  an  imposing  character,  at  which  even  the  Presi* 
dent  of  the  United  States  attended. 


MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  PATRICK  KENRICK, 

Ihird  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  Sixth  Archbishop  of  Baltimore^ 

The  successor  of  Archbishop  Eccleston  was  a  bishop  already 
world-renowned  for  learning  and  ability.  Francis  Patrick  Ken- 
rick,  bom  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  December  8, 1796,  received  a  sound 
and  pious  education  under  the  care  of  a  learned  uncle,  a  clergy- 
man, and  completed  his  studies  in  the  College  of  the  Propa- 
ganda at  Rome,  where  he  spent  seven  years.  He  was  sent  to 
Kentucky  in  1821  on  the  request  of  Bishop  Flaget  for  a  piiest 
fitted  to  occupy  a  chair  in  a  theological  seminary.  He  was  al- 
ready remarked  for  the  depth  and  accuracy  of  his  mind,  and  the 
extent  of  his  studies  in  dogmatic  and  patristic  theology  and  in 
Holy  Scriptures.  As  professor  at  St.  Thomas'  Seminary,  Bards- 
town,  he  trained  many  excellent  priests,  and,  untiring  in  his 
labors,  acted  as  professor  in  the  college  and  discharged  parochial 
duties.  His  health  was  really  injured  by  his  devotion  to  the 
multiform  work  before  him.  Ready  in  disputation,  he  became  an 
acknowledged  champion  of  the  faith.  A  Presbyterian  clergyman 
assailed  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  under  the  title  of 
Omega.  Kenrick's  "  Letters  from  Omicron  to  Omega "  were  an 
overwhelming  reply  that  silenced  the  impugner  of  the  words  of 
Christ ;  other  discussions  ensued,  in  all  which  the  learned  pro- 
fessor acquired  new  fame.  While  attending  the  first  Provincial 
Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian  of  Bishop  Flaget,  Rev.  Mr. 
Kenrick  was  selected  for  the  difficult  post  of  Bishop-adminis- 
trator of  Philadelphia.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Arath, 
June  6,  1830,  in  the  cathedral  at  Bardstown.  On  assuming  the 
charge  of  th«  diocese  he  found  the  trustees  of  St.  Mary's  Chureh 


DI00B8B  OF  BALTIMORl. 


75 


ecame  an 


defiant  when  he  declared  himself  pastor  of  that  church ;  but» 
interdicting  it,  he  rented  a  house  and  began  within  its  walls  a 
theological  seminary.  Then  he  entered  the  pulpit  of  St.  Mary's 
and  broke  the  power  of  the  trustees,  permitting  only  the  ezer^ 
cise  of  functions  recognized  by  the  Church.  The  trustees  soon 
attempted  to  renew  their  rebellion ;  but  he  repressed  their  tur- 
bulence and  made  it  a  rule  to  allow  no  church  to  be  organized 
in  the  diocese  under  the  trustee  system.  Having  overcome  that 
great  obstacle  to  Catholic  progress  and  piety,  Bishop  Keniick,  by 
constant  visitations  of  his  diocese,  made  himself  acquainted  with 
his  flock.  Few  of  the  parishes  at  first  had  resident  pastors,  but 
his  little  seminary  in  his  own  house  developed  into  the  noble 
theological  seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  which  has  given 
I  Pennsylvania  so  many  excellent  priests.  The  cholera  called 
forth  all  the  zeal  of  the  bishop  and  his  clergy,  and  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  a  community  instituted  in  Phila* 
delphia,  were  especially  devoted.  In  1834  Philadelphia  had  five 
churches  and  twenty-five  thousand  Catholics,  and  another  church, 
St  John's,  was  soon  erected  by  Rev.  John  Hughes. 

In  the  ensuing  years  schools  and  charitable  institutions  were 
multiplied ;  but  a  new  storm  of  persecution  arose  against  the 
Catholics,  and  in  18^4  a  blood-thirsty  mob  took  possession  of 
Philadelphia.  St.  Michael's  and  St.  Augustine's  churches,  with 
a  library  of  very  great  value,  houses  of  devoted  Sisters,  and 
many  residences  of  humble  Catholics,  were  given  to  the  fiames, 
the  city  authorities  offering  no  protection.  Many  Catholics  were 
butchered.  The  State  authorities  at  last  quelled  the  riot,  but 
it  was  renewed  again  iu  July  and  repressed  only  by  decisive 
measures. 

In  1843  the  diocese  of  Philadelphia  was  divided,  that  of 
Pittsburgh  having  been  set  off.  Bishop  Kenrick  retained  east- 
ern Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  western  New  Jersey.  In  this 
part  had  arisen  the  Jesuit  college  of  St.  Joseph  and  the  A  ugus- 
tinian  college  of  St.  Thomas  of  Villanova,  the  academies  of  the 
Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Visitation  nuns,  and  Sisters  of  Si 
Joseph,  while  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  began  their  holy 
work.  The  Redemptorists  and  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 
began  to  labor  among  the  Germans.    "When  in  1851  Bishop  Ken* 


76 


TBI  CATHOLIC  BIBBAROHT  IN  THB  UIOTID  8TAT18. 


riok  was  promoted  to  tlie  see  of  Baltimore  the  diocese  of  Phila> 
delphia  contained  one  hundred  and  two  churches  and  chapels, 
one  hundred  and  one  priests,  and  forty-six  seminarians  preparing 
to  reinforce  them.  While  Bishop  of  Philadelphia  Dr.  Kenrick 
published  two  works  which  rendered  great  service  to  the  semina* 
rians  and  clergy — his  "Theologia  Dogmatica"  and  his  "Theologia 
Moralis."  His  "  Primacy  of  the  Apostolic  See,"  "  Vindication  of 
the  Catholic  Church,"  and  works  on  baptism  and  justification 
were  able  and  timely. 

On  the  8d  of  August,  1851,  Bishop  Kenrick  was  promoted 
to  the  see  of  Baltimore,  and  was  soon  after  appointed  apostolic 
delegate  to  preside  at  a  Plenary  Council.  It  was  opened  May 
9,  1852,  and  was  attended  by  six  archbishops  and  twenty-six 
bishops  of  the  United  States.  Its  decrees  aimed  to  give  uni* 
formity  to  discipline  throughout  the  whole  country.  They  re- 
cognized the  infallibility  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  re-enacted  the 
decrees  of  the  Provincial  Councils,  regulated  the  Bitual  and 
>ranual  of  Ceremonies,  the  absence  of  bishops,  the  establish- 
ment of  consultora  and  a  chancery  in  each  diocese,  the  fixing  of 
limits  to  parishes,  publication  of  banns,  marriage  and  baptism, 
/  catechetical  instructions,  the  maintenance  of  theological  semina- 
ries and  parochial  schools,  took  steps  to  prevent  the  reception  of 
wandering  priests,  the  usurpation  of  lay  trustees,  encouraged  the 
Associations  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  for  the  conver- 
sion of  non-Catholics. 

In  1853  Archbishop  Kenrick  convened  a  diocesan  synod, 
promulgating  statutes  in  harmony  with  the  council,  and  a  year 
later  attended  the  gathering  of  the  episcopate  at  Rome  when 
Pope  Pius  IX.  solemnly  defined  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception.  On  his  return  he  held  a  Provincial  Council  and  en- 
couraged the  establishment  of  several  needed  asylums  in  his 
diocese.  Ever  anxious  to  uphold  the  discipline  of  the  Church, 
he  convened  another  synod  in  1857  and  a  Provincial  Council  in 
1858.  He  took  an  active  part  in  placing  on  a  firm  foundation 
the  American  College  at  Kome,  founded  by  Pope  Pius  IX. 

His  life  of  active  zeal  and  study  had  gradually  undermined 
his  health,  and  in  1863  general  anxiety  was  felt,  although  there 
was  no  indication  of  immediate  danger.    Bishop  O'Connor  spont 


DIOOBBV  OF  BAimXOSl. 


11 


the  eveniYig  of  the  6th  of  July  with  him,  leaving  him  in  ap* 
parently  his  usual  condition ;  but  during  the  night  he  expired 
calmly  by  a  sudden  but  nut  unprovided  death. 

The  last  work  of  this  studious  prelate  was  a  revision  of  the 
Catholic  version  of  the  Bible,  which,  translated  originally  by 
Rev.  Gregory  Martin,  of  Douay  College,  had  been  revised  by 
Bishop  Challoner,  and  had  undergone  so  many  changes  at  the 
hands  of  others  as  to  be  no  longer  creditable  to  the  Catholic 
body  or  safe  as  a  translation.  His  epitaph  says  that  "  he  adorned 
the  archiepiscopal  chair  with  the  greatest  piety  and  learning,  as 
well  AS  with  equal  modesty  and  poverty." 


y 


^  MOST  REV.  MARTIN  JOHN  SPALDING, 

Secofid  Bishop  of  Louisvilley  Seventh  Arohbiahop  of  Bcdtimore. 

Mabtin  John  Spalding  was  bom  May  23,  1810,  on  the  Roll- 
ing Fork,  Kentucky,  where  his  grandfather,  Benedict  Spalding, 
had  settled  in  1790  when  he  came  from  St.  Mary's  County, 
Maryland.  Both  his  parents,  Richard  Spalding  and  Henrietta 
Hamilton,  were  natives  of  that  old  Catholic  county.  After 
studying  the  rudiments  in  the  nearest  log  school  he  entered  St. 
Mary's  College  as  soon  as  it  opened  in  1821,  and  so  r^Tstinguished 
himself  that  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  the  profeb  •  of  mathe- 
matics.  On  being  graduated  in  1826  he  resolved  to  become  a 
priest,  and  entered  the  seminary  at  Bardstown.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  he  was  sent  to  Rome,  and,  though  stricken  down  by  a 
dangerous  illness,  won  his  doctor's  cap  by  an  able  defence  of  his 
theses  against  some  of  the  greatest  men  in  the  Catholic  capital. 
Returning  to  his  own  diocese,  he  became  pastor  of  the  cathedral 
and  professor  of  philosophy  in  the  diocesan  seminary.  He  aided 
in  establishing  the  Minerva,  and  contributed  to  periodical  lite* 
rature.  The  college  journal  soon  gave  way  to  the  QcAholic  Ad^ 
vocate,  of  which  he  was  chief  editor,  as  he  soon  became  of  the 
Vmied  8tate%  GatkoUc  Mctgazim,    He  was  also  a  contributor 


rs;:^: 


78 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIBRAROHT  IN  THE  UNITBD  STATIS. 


to  the  Catholic  magazines,  Lis  collected  articles  forming  a  vain* 
able  volume.  In  1838  he  became  president  of  St.  Joseph's 
College,  but  was  placed  again  at  Bardstown  when  the  bishop 
removed  his  see  to  Louisville,  but  soon,  as  vicar-general,  followed 
Dr.  Flaget  Averse  to  controversy,  he  gave  lectures  in  defence  of 
Catholic  doctrines  when  a  knot  of  Protestant  ministers  misrep- 
resented and  assailed  them.  On  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Cha- 
brat.  Doctor  Spalding  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Lengone  and 
coadjutor  of  Louisville,  and  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Flaget, 
September  10,  1848.  From  this  time  the  administration  really 
devolved  upon  him,  and  on  the  death  of  the  venerable  bishop, 
February  11,  1850,  he  became  Bishop  of  Louisville.  He  wrote 
the  early  history  of  the  diocese  in  his  "  Sketches  of  Kentucky," 
and  the  life  of  his  predecessor  apart  in  a  special  work.  He  re- 
called the  Jesuits  to  his  diocese,  and  welcomed  a  colony  of 
Cistercians  who  founded  the  Trappist  abbey  at  Gethsemane. 
In  1842  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  began  their  redeeming 
work  in  Louisville.  By  visitations  of  his  diocese,  retreats  of  the 
clergy,  and  missions  among  the  people  Bishop  Spalding  labored 
to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  Catholic  faith.  He  established  orphan 
asylums,  attended  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  those  who  did  not 
speak  English,  establishing  churches  for  the  Germans.  He  com- 
pleted the  cathedral,  the  corner-stone  of  which  he  had  laid  while 
coadjutor,  and  erected  many  new  churches ;  but  he  felt  that  the 
diocese  ought  to  be  divided.  The  Plenary  Council  accordingly 
asked  the  Holy  See  to  establish  the  see  of  Covington.  After 
joining  in  the  deliberations  of  the  council  be  visited  Europe, 
obtained.a  colony  of  Xaverian  Brothers  in  Belgium,  and  took 
steps  towards  establishing  a  missionary  college  at  Louvain — ^a 
project  which  he  afterwards,  with  the  aid  of  Bishop  Lefevre, 
carried  out  successfully. 

In  August,  1865,  Louisville  was  given  up  to  a  Know-Nothing 
mob,  who  butchered  w  burned  nearly  one  hundred  Catholics 
and  gave  some  twenty  houses  to  the  flames.  The  cathedral  was 
menaced,  but,  by  the  providence  of  God,  escaped.  Bishop  Spald- 
ing took  an  important  part  in  the  councils  held  at  Cincinnati  in 
1855,  1358,  and  1861,  the  pastoral  letters  all  emanating  from  his 
pen. 


DIOOESB  OF  BALTIMOBB. 


19 


While  constant  in  the  care  of  his  diocese,  he  was  always  en- 
gaged in  some  literary  work.  He  exposed  the  fallacy  of  Morsels 
pretended  Lafayette  motto,  silenced  Prentiss  in  regard  to  Catholic 
education,  and  gave  a  noble  refutation  of  D'Aubign^'s  "  Histoiy 
of  the  Reformation."  When  the  civil  war  began  his  diocese  be- 
came a  scene  of  military  operations ;  colleges  closed  and  churches 
were  exposed  to  destruction.  "  I  must  attend  to  souls,"  he  wrote, 
"  without  entering  into  angry  political  discussion."  His  priests 
and  sisters  of  various  orders  were  Untiring  in  their  devotion  to 
the  sick  and  wounded  on  the  battle-field  and  in  the  hospital, 
several  dying  martyrs  to  charity.  Amid  all  the  turmoil  of  war, 
however,  Bishop  Spalding  assembled  his  priests  in  synod  to  re- 
new their  fervor  in  such  dread  times. 

On  the  11th  of  June,  1864,  he  received  the  Papal  Rescript 
which  promoted  him  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Baltimore  as 
successor  to  Archbishop  Kenrick.  Ke  took  possession  of  his  new 
see  on  the  81st  of  July.  One  of  his  earliest  acts  was  to  found  a 
House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in  Baltimore,  a  colony  of  sisters 
coming  from  Louisville  at  his  request.  He  then  made  a  visi- 
tation of  his  diocese,  urging  the  faithful  to  profit  by  the  jubilee 
then  granted  by  Pope  Pius  IX.  In  his  pastoral  on  that  occasion 
he  explained  and  justified  the  famous  Syllabus.  In  1865  he 
convened  the  sixth  synod  of  the  diocese.  As  the  war  went  on 
he  was  charged  with  the  administration  of  the  diocese  of  Charles- 
ton, to  which  the  bishop  was  unable  to  return,  and  he  made  a 
successful  appeal  to  Northern  Catholics  to  aid  their  war-stricken 
brethren  in  the  faith.  His  own  diocese  was  not  neglected ;  in 
1866  he  began  a  boys'  protectory,  confiding  it  to  the  Xaverian 
Brothers.  A  Plenary  Council  was  again  required,  and  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  approving  the  plan,  by  letters  of  February  16, 1866,  ap- 
pointed Archbishop  Spalding  to  preside.  He  immediately  set  to 
work  to  plan  out  its  whole  work,  and  when,  years  after,  a  third 
council  was  called  it  was  found  that  there  was  little  to  be  done 
except  to  carry  out  such  parts  of  his  plan  as  had  not  been  acted 
upon  at  the  time.  The  great  ecclesiastical  assembly  met  in  his 
cathedral  on  the  7th  of  October,  seven  archbishops,  thirty-eight 
bishops,  three  mitred  abbots,  and  more  than  a  hundred  theologians 
taking  part  in  its  deliberations.    It  was  the  largest  council  unot 


80 


THlfi  CATHOLIC  HIEBABCHT  IN  THE  UNITBD  STATES. 


B.  ' 


w  ' 


the  general  one  held  at  Trent.  Its  decrees  covered  the  whol:- 
field  of  dogma  and  discipline. 

The  great  archbishop  then  devoted  himself  to  his  own  diocese, 
and  gave  especial  attention  to  extending  the  ministry  to  Catholic 
colored  people  and  all  who  sought  to  enter  the  Church.  He 
visited  Europe,  but  even  there  was  laboring  for  the  good  of  the 
Church  in  this  country. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  1869,  he  took  leave  of  his  diocese  in 
order  to  attend  the  General  Council  of  the  Vatican,  summoned  by 
Pope  Pius  IX.  At  first  he  was  one  who  deemed  the  definition  of 
the  Pope's  infallibility  whente&ching  ex  cathedra  inopportune ;  but 
when  he  found  the  rationalistic  governments  of  France,  Spain, 
Bavaria,  Austria,  and  Italy  intriguing  to  prevent  it,  he  declared 
that  the  definition  was  necessary.  With  the  bishops  from  coun 
tries  where  Catholicity  was  free,  he  insisted  upon  it.  He  labored 
incessantly  during  the  eight  months  that  the  sessions  lasted,  and 
remained  in  Rome  till  the  fourth  and  last  general  congregation, 
July  18, 1870.  After  the  Constitution  issued.  Archbishop  Spald- 
ing addressed  a  pastoral  to  his  flock  on  the  Papal  Infallibility, 
treating  the  subject  in  the  plain  and  simple  style  that  carries 
light  and  conviction  to  the  mind.  He  then  visited  Switzerland 
and  Savoy,  intending  to  return  to  the  council  when  it  reassem< 
bled,  but  the  wicked  course  of  Victor  Emmanuel  in  seizing  Rome 
made  its  reassembling  impossible.  Archbishop  Spalding  re- 
turned to  his  diocese.  There  he  resumed  his  labors,  though  re- 
curring illness  made  all  exercion  at  times  impossible ;  he  built 
fine  parochial  schools  near  his  cathedral,  and  began  a  church  in 
honor  of  St.  Pius  V.  A  visit  to  New  York  on  mattere  relating 
to  the  Church  in  the  whole  country  brought  on  acute  bronchitis. 
On  Christmas  day  he  said  Maes  at  a  temporary  altar  in  the  hall 
near  his  bedroom,  and  it  was  the  last  time  he  was  to  offer  the 
Holy  Sacrifice.  His  sufferings  became  intense,  and  the  remedies 
employed  to  relieve  him  were  extremely  painful,  but  he  bore  all 
with  cheerfulness  and  resignation.  He  expired  on  the  7th  of 
February,  1872,  Bishop  Becker  giving  him  the  last  blessing, 
and  on  the  12th  his  body  was  laid  beside  that  of  Archbishop 
Kenrick. 


DI00E8B  OF  BALTIMORE. 


81 


MOST  REV.  JAMES  ROOSEVELT  BAYLEY, 

Mrst  Bishop  of  Niswarh  and  Eighth  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

Jam^s  Roose/blt  Batley  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Guy  Carleton 
Bayley  and  Grace  Roosevelt,  his  father  being  a  brother  of  the 
holy  Eliza  Seton,  who  founded  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  the 
United  States.  He  was  brought  up  in  the  Episcopalian  creed, 
to  which  the  family  belonged,  and  early  evinced  a  love  of  litera* 
ture  and  books.  After  an  early  courae  at  Mount  Pleasant  Aca* 
demy  he  entered  Trinity  College,  Hartford,  and  became  a  pupil 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Farmer  Jai-vis,  whose  love  of  the  Fathers 
and  clear,  logical  mind  drew  himself  and  his  pupils  in'esistibly 
towards  Catholic  truth.  Under  him  he  prepared  for  admission  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  in  time  became  rector 
of  a  church  at  Harlem.  But  his  soul  felt  cramped  in  the  cold 
formalities  of  that  sect.  Visiting  the  poor  and  often  suffering 
Catholic  huts  in  his  district,  he  was  impressed  by  the  lively 
faith,  piety,  and  resignation  which  he  witnessed.  He  resolved 
to  become  a  Catholic.  An  uncle,  whose  favorite  he  was,  endea- 
vored to  dissuade  him  and  sent  him  abroad,  certain  that  if  young 
Bayley  saw  Catholicity  as  it  was  in  Rome  he  would  be  cured  of 
all  such  ideas.  Renouncing  the  worldly  prospects  before  him, 
he  was  received  into  the  Church  in  Rome  in  April,  1 842.  Pro- 
ceeding to  Paris,  he  entered  the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpice,  and,  to 
gratify  the  wish  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  returned  to  New  York 
to  be  ordained  by  him  in  1844.  Attached  to  the  cathedral,  he 
was  zealous  on  the  mission  ;  and,  as  secretary  of  the  archbishop, 
organized  the  chancery  of  the  diocese,  collecting  and  arranging 
all  records  of  the  past  and  insuring  future  regularity.  When 
New  Jersey,  which  had  been  pail  of  the  dioceses  of  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  was  formed  into  a  bishopric  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Bayley  was  selected  as  the  first  Bishop  of  Newark,  and  was 
consecrated  on  the  30th  of  October,  1 853,  in  St.  PatrickV  Cathe- 
dral, New  York,  by  Archbishop  Bedini.  In  his  new  diocese  he 
established  Seton  Hall,  a  theological  seminary  and  college  of  a 
high  order,  introduced  several  religious  communities,  encouraged 
the  building  of  churches,  and  above  all  of  schools,  formed  aa> 


•2 


THl  OATEOUO  BIBKABOIT  IN  THB  UNITBD  STATflB. 


idoiations  to  keep  young  men  together  and  give  them  innocent 
enjoyment.  For  nineteen  years  his  influence  was  felt  throughout 
the  State,  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  faith  acknowledging  that 
it  was  ever  exerted  in  the  cause  of  morality  and  good  citizenship. 
His  pastoral  letters  were  read  with  reverence  by  his  flock  and 
with  respect  by  all,  aild  in  the  three  coTincils  of  New  York  and 
the  Second  Plenaiy  Council  of  Baltimore  his  learning,  wisdom, 
and  practical  methods  carried  great  ^veirlit.  He  visited  Rome 
in  1862  at  the  time  of  the  canonization  of  the  Japanese  martyrs, 
and  some  years  later  to  attend  the  centenary  of  the  Apostles 
St  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  In  1872  he  was,  to  his  own  regret,  trans- 
ferred by  a  brief  of  July  10  to  the  see  of  Baltimore  as  successor 
of  Archbishop  Spalding.  His  health  was  already  impaired,  but 
he  twice  visited  his  diocese  and  began  a  thii*d  visitation.  He 
freed  the  cathedral  from  debt  and  consecrated  it.  In  1877  he 
was  advised  to  visit  Vichy  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  but, 
finding  his  disease  increase,  he  sought  only  to  die  among  his 
flock.  He  reached  New  York  in  a  dying  condition,  and  expired 
at  Newark,  among  the  clergy  and  people  who  loved  him  so  de- 
votedly, October  3,  1877.  After  funeral  services  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  that  city  his  remains  were  conveyed  to  Baltimore  for 
similar  honors,  and  were  finally  laid  beside  those  of  his  vene- 
rated aunt.  Mother  Seton,  at  Emmittsburg. 

Beside  his  pastorals  he  published  a  ''  Sketch  of  the  Catholic 
Church  on  the  Island  of  New  York "  and  "  Memoirs  of  Bishop 
Brut^,  of  Vincennes." 


ir.S  EMINENCE  JAMES  CARDINAL  GIBBONS, 

Mrst    Vicar- Apostolic  of  North   Carolina,   fourth  Bishop  of 
Michniondf  Ninth  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

James  Gibbons  was  bom  in  Baltimore  on  the  23d  of  July,  1834, 
and  was  baptized  in  the  cathedral  by  the  Rev.  Charles  I.  White. 
He  was  taken  to  Ireland  at  the  age  of  ten,  and  made  his  ear- 
liest studies  there,  attracting  the  attention  of  Archbishop  Mc- 


DI00B8B  OF  BALTIMORE. 


88 


vene- 


Hale  by  his  piety  and  diligence.  Returning  to  his  native  coun* 
try,  be  entered  the  preparatory  seminary,  St.  Oharles'  College,  and 
after  his  course  there  entered  St.  Mary's  College,  Baltimore.  He 
was  ordained  oh  June  30,  1861,  and  assigned  to  St.  Patrick's 
Church,  but  in  a  few  months  received  charge  of  St.  Bridget's 
Church,  Canton,  with  the  care  of  St.  Lawrence's  at  Locust  Point, 
as  well  as  of  the  Catholic  soldiers  at  Fort  McHenry.  The  zeal 
of  the  young  priest  in  this  laborious  duty  showed  his  merit,  and 
Archbishop  Spalding  made  him  his  secretary  and  assistant  at  the 
cathedral.  The  peculiar  charm  of  his  manner,  the  influence  his 
piety  exercised,  made  him  a  marked  man,  and  at  the  Second  Plen* 
ary  Council  of  Baltimore  he  was  selected  as  the  priest  best  fitted 
to  organize  the  new  vicariate-apostolic  in  North  Carolina,  a  State 
where  Catholicity  had  made  least  impression.  He  did  not  shrink 
from  the  difficult  task.  Everything  was  to  be  created ;  the  scat* 
tered  Catholics  were  fewer  in  the  whole  State  than  would  be 
found  in  a  Maryland  parish.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Ad- 
ramyttum  in  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore,  August  16,  1868,  and 
proceeded  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  making  St.  Thomas' 
Church  his  residence.  He  found  one  or  two  priests  in  the  State, 
and  seven  hundred  Catholics  scattered  in  a  population  of  a  mil> 
lion.  He  drew  devoted  priests  to  him,  and  labored  in  person 
with  the  gentle  zeal  of  a  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  winning  a  way  to 
hearts  that  the  profoundest  erudition  or  the  highest  eloquence 
failed  to  reach.  He  visited  every  part  of  the  State,  preaching 
and  lecturing  in  court-houses,  meeting-houses,  any  hall  that  could 
be  had,  and  everywhere  presenting  the  unknown  truth  with  ir- 
resistible power.  His  method  can  be  best  undt^tood  by  his 
wonderful  little  oook,  "  The  Faith  of  our  Fathers,"  a  work  that 
has  been  more  effective  than  any  other  since  Milner  published 
his  "  End  of  Controversy."  Little  communities  of  converts  be- 
gan to  fonri,  and  the  ministers  of  God  began  to  feel  courage. 
Churches  sprang  up  in  the  larger  cities,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  came 
to  open  an  academy,  and  the  ancient  nrdcr  of  St.  Benedict  pre- 
pared to  found  a  monastery.  On  the  c'eath  of  Bishop  McGill, 
Doctor  Gibbons  was  transferred  to  the  see  of  Richmond,  July  30, 
1872,  retaining,  however,  the  charge  of  his  vicariate.  His  labors 
in  the  larger  field  were  evexi  more  fruitful,  and  the  influence  was 


-'KH 


I 


^m$i. 


64  tim  OATfiOLtO  BUBl^ROHT  m  TBH  UKITBI)  STATES. 

gradually  extending,  wheu  AicLbiskop  llayley,  finding  his  health 
precarious,  asked  that  he  should  be  apjtointed  coadjutor  of  Bal- 
timore. On  the  29th  of  May,  lb 77,  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Jan* 
opolis  and  proceeded  to  Maryland.  He  left  with'reluctance  the 
flocks  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  to  assume  the  charge  of 
the  ancient  diocese  of,  Baltimore,  of  which  he  became  archbishop 
on  the  death  of  Archbishop  Bayley  in  the  following  Octobei- 
The  pallium  was  conferred  upon  him  osi  the  10th  of  Februarv, 
1878.  His  venerable  mother,  who  had  lived  to  see  her  son  en- 
throned in  the  cathedral  where  he  had  been  baptiisiiid,  died  noon 
after  at  the  age  of  eighty.  Raised  thus  to  the  highest  position 
in  the  American  hierarchy,  he  enjoys  the  respect  of  all,  aud  ^vus 
chosen  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.  to  preside  in  the  Third  Plenary  Couii- 
cil  of  Baltimore  in  Noveuiber,  1884,  having  been  invited  to. 
Rome  with  other  archbishc^jis  aad  bishor^s  in  the  previous  year 
in  order  to  deliberate  on  tht"  iixost  urgent  matters  to  be  con- 
sidered in  that  assembly.  .  ^g. 

In  the  Consistory  held  hj.  PopiB  Leo  XIII.  in  June,  1886,  the 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore  was  created  a  cardinal  priest,  and  the 
insignia  of  his  new  dignity  were  soon  after  borne  to  him  acro&B 
the  Atlantic. 


,  ,*tS'-- 


?.^ 


his  health 
)!•  of  Bal. 
op  of  Jan- 
stance  the 
charge  of 
rchbishop 

October. 
Februar ', 
r  son  en- 
lied  soon 
t  position 

aud  vius 
vry  Coiiii- 
mted  to 


1   ! 


I    } 


DIOC£S£  OF  BOSTON. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  CHEVERU8, 

Firat  Bishop  of  Boston,  then  Bishop  of  Montcmhmif  Arch- 
bishop  of  BordeawBf  and  Cardinal, 

John  Louis  Lefbbvbb  Ghbyebus  was  bom  at  Mayenne, 
France,  January  28,  1768,  where  his  lamily  held  a  high  position. 
Trained  by  a  pious  mother,  he  received  the  tonsure  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  and  studied  at  college  only  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
altar.  He  completed  hin  studies  at  the  college  of  Louis  le 
Grand  and  the  seminary  of  St.  Magloire,  and  was  ordained 
priest  December  8,  1790.  He  became  curate  of  his  uncle,  a 
parish  priest  in  Mayenne,  whom  he  soon  succeeded,  and  was 
made  canon  of  Mans.  Refusing  the  constitutional  oath,  he  was 
cast  into  prison,  but  escaped  in  June,  1792,  and  reached  England. 
He  had  begun  to  labor  as  a  missionary  there  when  his  old  fiiend, 
the  Abb6  Matignon,  then  the  only  priest  in  New  England,  im- 
plored him  to  come  to  his  aid.  He  landed  at  Boston  in  April, 
1796,  and,  receiving  faculties  from  Bishop  Carroll,  set  to  work 
with  Dr.  Matignon  to  attend  the  scattered  Catholics,  from  the 
Penobscot  Indians  in  Maine  to  the  poor  emigrants  in  Connecti- 
cut. So  bitter  was  the  feeling  against  Catholicity  that  he  was 
soon  arrested  in  Maine  and  tried  with  criminals  for  marrying  a 
couple  in  that  district,  and  narrowly  escaped  imprisonment  with 
thieves  and  drunkards.  But  his  charity,  learning,  and  piety  soon 
made  a  deep  impression  on  all,  and  the  Catholic  body  found 
some  of  the  still  oppressive  laws  modified  out  of  respect  to  him. 
The  original  church  of  the  Holy  Cross  was  rebuilt  by  him  and 
dedicated  by  Archbishop  Carroll  in  1803.  Other  churches  were 
soon  erected  by  his  zeal.  When  the  see  of  Boston  was  erected 
he  was  selected  as  bishop,  though  he  sought  to  have  the  honor 
conferred  on  Dr.  Matignon.    From  his  consecration  in  Baltimore, 


^41 


M 


TU  OATROUO  HIIIUROHT  IN  Til  UNITED  BTATM. 


November  1,  1810,  his  whole  thought  wm  devoted  to  hii  di(v 
oese.  He  soon  lost  his  friend  and  coadjutor,  but  gathered  other 
priests  around  him,  laboring  more  abundantly  than  any  of  them 
in  enduring  all  the  hardships  of  a  missionary  priest,  relieving 
the  poor  in  his  unbounded  charity,  and  winning  Protestants  to 
the  faith  by  the  example  of  his  virtue  as  well  as  the  clearness 
and  force  of  his  arguments.  His  health  began  to  sink  ui)der  his 
arduous  duties,  but  when  Louis  XYHI.  named  him  for  the  see 
of  Montauban,  and  urged  him  to  return  to  France,  he  declined  to 
abandon  the  poor  diocese  which  had  so  long  been  the  scene  of 
his  prii  'ttly  and  episcopal  labors.  He  yielded  only  when  physi- 
cians declared  that  he  could  not  live  if  he  spent  another  win* 
ter  in  Boston.  After  giving  away  all  he  possessed  to  the  clergy 
and  the  ()oor  he  embarked  for  Europe  in  October,  1828.  When 
Matignon  and  Cheverus  began  their  labors  there  was  one  poor 
church  in  all  New  England.  Bishop  Cheverus  left  a  cathedral 
in  Boston,  St.  Augustine's  in  South  Boston,  a  church  in  Maine, 
and  one  in  New  Hampshire.   *  ^ 

He  had,  too,  seen  many  embrace  the  faith — the  Barbers  of 
New  Hampshire,  Dr.  Green  in  Boston,  Rev.  Dr.  Kewley,  of  Con* 
necticut.  He  could  feel  that  the  Church  he  had  done  so  much 
to  found  was  destined,  with  God*s  blessing,  to  thrive  and  prosper. 

As  Bishop  of  Montauban  Dr.  Clieverus  was  soon  known 
throughout  France.  Eloquent  in  the  pulpit,  full  of  learning, 
charitable  and  benefolent  to  the  suffering  nnd  poor  without  dis- 
tinction, impressing  all  by  the  sanctity  of  hi  life,  the  fiercest 
of  the  old  revolutionists  acknowledged  his  power.  A  higher 
sphere  was  evidently  soon  to  be  his.  On  the  death  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Bordeaux  in  1826  he  was  promoted  to  that  see  and 
made  a  Peer  of  France.  Other  honors  flowed  upon  him :  he  was 
chosen  to  the  Royal  Council,  created  Knight  Commander  of  the 
Order  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  fall  of  Charles  X.  and  the  acces- 
sion of  Louis  Philippe  did  not  alter  the  general  esteem  for 
Archbishop  Cheverus,  and  all  hailed  his  elevation  to  the  cardi- 
nalate  in  1886.  He  did  not  long  survive  this  exaltation,  dying 
in  the  midst  jf  his  labors  on  the  19th  of  July. 

Each  diocese  that  he  had  directed  had  some  institution,  some 
gooi  work,  as  a  monument  of  his  zeal.    All  the  early  churches 


DI00I8B  OF  BpSTOK. 


87 


in  New  England  were  to  some  extent  hm  work,  as  was  the  Ursa* 
line  convent  at  Cliorlestown. 


RIGHT  REV.  BENEDICT  JOSEPH  PENWIOK, 

Second  Bishop  of  Boston. 

Bishop  Fenwiok  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  bom  near  Leonard- 
town,  in  St.  Mary's  County,  the  cradle  of  Catholicity,  September 
8,  1782,  descended  from  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  under  Lord 
Baltimore.  No  sooner  was  Georgetown  College  opened  in  1792 
than  he  and  his  brother  were  prepared  for  admission  to  it.  His 
course  there  confirmed  his  vocation,  and  he  was  soon  enrolled  as 
a  student  in  the  Sulpitian  seminary  at  Baltimore.  When  the 
members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  were  permitted  in  1806  to  re- 
organize under  the  superiors  in  Russia  the  two  brothers  sought 
admission.  Benedict  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Neale  at  George- 
town,  March  12,  1808.  The  difficult  mission  of  New  York  was 
his  first  mission,  and  there,  as  assistant  to  the  venerable  Father 
Kohlman,  he  rendered  the  greatest  service  not  only  in  the  paro- 
chial work,  but  in  establishing  and  directing  "  The  New  York 
Literary  Institution."  He  was  in  time  administrator  of  the 
diocese  in  the  absence  and  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Concanen, 
and  began  the  erection  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  from  his  own 
designs.  After  becoming  vicar-general  of  Bishop  Connolly  he 
was  made  president  of  Georgetown  College  in  1817,  but  was 
sent  the  next  year  to  Charleston  by  Bishop  Neale  to  restore 
peace  to  the  Church.  Having  successfully  carried  out  his  mis- 
sion, he  returned  to  the  college  and  soon  after  resumed  the  presi- 
dency. On  the  10th  of  May,  1825,  he  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Boston,  and  was  consecrated  on  All  Saints'  Day  by  Archbishop 
Mar^chal,  assisted  by  Bishops  England  and  Conwell.  His  dio- 
cese, comprising  all  the  New  England  States,  contained  four 
churches,  but  on  his  arrival  he  found  only  two  priests  remaining. 
He  at  once  assumed  the  parochial  duty  at  the  cathedral,  opened 
a  school,  and  taught  the  catechism  on  Sunday.    One  of  his  first 


88 


TBI  OATHOLIO  BIBRARORT  IN  TBI  UNITED  STATU. 


.  t 


oarei  wm  to  secure  for  the  Ursuline  nuns  a  considerable  pro- 
perty in  Oharlestown,  which  received  the  name  of  Mount  Bene* 
diet,  and  where  a  fine  convent  and  academy  were  soon  erected. 
Priests  were  obtained  and  new  missions  opened,  while  his  house 
became  a  seminary  where  young  men  were  prepared  to  increase 
the  clergy  of  the  diocese.  He  made  a  visitation  of  his  diocese 
and  learned  by  personal  observation  the  number  and  condition 
of  the  Catholics,  and  selected  spots  for  churches.  He  rebuilt 
that  at  Gharlestown,  and  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  others 
begun  at  Eastport,  Orono,  Saco,  and  Portland,  Me.,  at  Dover,  N. 
H.,  Hartford,  Newport^  and  Pawtucket.  One  of  his  earliest  cares 
was  to  mark  by  a  suitable  monument  the  spot  at  Norridgewalk, 
Me.,  where  Rev.  Sebastian  Rale  had  been  killed  in  1724. 

There  was  much  to  encourage  Bishop  Fenwick,  especially 
after  the  first  and  second  councils  of  Baltimore ;  but  unprin* 
cipled  men  stimulated  prejudice  and  hatred  against  Catholics, 
and  a  book  appeared  full  of  calumnies  against  the  Ursuline 
nuns.  On  the  11th  of  August,  1834,  a  mob  attacked  that  house 
of  defenceless  ladies,  drove  them  from  it,  and  burned  it  to  the 
gfound,  by  the  apathy  if  not  the  connivance  of  the  authorities. 
It  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  bishop,  who  saw  courts  acquit  the 
guilty.  In  1842  he  held  the  first  synod  in  his  diocese,  and 
formally  put  in  force  the  decrees  of  the  Baltimore  councils. 
The  next  year  he  obtained  the  erection  of  a  see  of  Hartford, 
with  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  as  the  diocese.  In  1843  he 
founded  the  college  of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Worcester,  confiding 
it  to  the  Society  of  Jesus,  but  was  never  able  to  obtain  a 
charter  for  it.  The  next  year,  finding  his  strength  and  health 
decline,  he  obtained  a  coadjutor  in  the  person  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
John  B.  Fitzpatrick.  In  the  same  year  he  received  into  the 
Church  the  distinguished  philosopher,  O.  A.  Brownson.  Bishop 
Fenwick  continued  in  the  constant  discharge  of  his  duties,  but 
in  the  summer  of  1846  disease  manifested  itself  in  a  fatal  form, 
and  he  expired  on  the  11th  of  August. 

Bishop  Fenwick  was  one  of  the  great  bishops  of  the  Church, 
learned  and  prudent  in  the  council,  eloquent  in  the  pulpit, 
energetic  and  active  in  his  episcopal  duties,  a  father  to  his 
clergy  and  people.    The  diocese  he  found  with  two  priests  he 


At  pro- 
t  Beiw* 
erected. 
B  bouM 
increase 
diocese 
>ndition 
rebuilt 
f  others 
over,  N. 
mt  cares 
gewalk, 

pecially 

unprin* 

titholics, 

Jrsuline 

Ekt  house 

b  to  the 

horities. 

][uit  the 

see,  and 

iouncils. 

artford, 

848  he 

>nMing 

Dtain  a 

health 

It.  Rev. 

ato  the 

Bishop 

ies,  but 

1  form, 

Dhurch, 
pulpit, 
to  his 
ests  he 


1 


DI00B8S  OF  BOSTON. 


8» 


left  with    fortj-flve,  and  with    a   corresponding    increase  in 
churches  and  institutions. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  BERNARD  FITZPATRICK, 

Third  Bishop  of  Boston. 

John  Bbrnadd  Ffizpatbiok  was  bom  in  Boston,  November 
1,  1812,  his  parents  having  emigrated  seven  years  before  from 
Tullamore,  Ireland.  Their  son  received  his  early  training  in  the 
best  city  schools,  and  in  the  famous  Boston  Latin  School  he 
won  several  medals.  Bishop  Fenwick,  who  knew  his  piety  and 
talents,  saw  and  encouraged  his  vocation  for  the  priesthood,  and 
in  1829  he  was  sent  to  the  Sulpitian  college  in  Montreal.  Here 
he  so  thoroughly  mastered  the  French  language  in  all  its  nice* 
ties  that  he  was  made  professor  of  rhetoric  and  belles-lettres. 
His  studies  for  the  priesthood  were  made  at  St.  Sulpice,  Paris, 
and  he  was  ordained  priest  June  18,  1840.  Returning  home, 
he  was  assistant  at  the  cathedral,  and  afterwards  at  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Boston.  Having  been  appointed  to  East  Cambridge, 
he  erected  a  substantial  stone  church.  When  the  health  of 
Bishop  Fenwick  required  aid  he  chose  Rev.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  as 
his  coadjutor,  aware  of  his  sound  theological  learning,  his  zeal, 
and  his  administrative  ability.  On  being  appointed  Bishop  of 
Gallipolis  in  1844,  he  was  consecrated  at  Georgetown  on  the 
24th  of  March.  He  at  once  took  up  his  residence  with  the 
bishop,  laboring  with  his  wonted  zeal.  In  less  than  two  years 
the  whole  burden  of  the  diocese  devolved  upon  him,  and  he 
overtaxed  his  strength,  having  no  secretary  and  no  vicar-general 
for  several  years.  By  his  energy,  by  1853  he  had  increased  the 
churches  in  Massachusetts  from  twenty-seven  to  fifty;  but  he 
saw  the  necessity  of  bishops  for  the  more  northern  States,  and 
in  1858  was  rejoiced  to  relinquish  Maine  and  New  Hampshire 
to  the  Bishop  of  Portland  and  Vermont  to  the  Bishop  of  Bur- 
lington. Bishop  Fitzpatrick  encouraged  the  erection  of  a  re- 
formatory for  boys,  and  labored  to  restore  the  college  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  which  had  been  partially  destroyed  by  fire. 


90 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBBABCHT  IK  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


|W' 


The  anti-Catholic  excitement  soon  after  saddened  his  heart 
by  other  outrages  like  that  of  Charlestown.  A  church  at  Dor- 
chester was  blown  up,  another  burned  at  Bath,  that  at  Manches- 
ter was  attacked,  and  fhe  houses  of  Catholics  wrecked.  The 
very  legislature  of  the  State  stooped  to  infamy  and  appointed 
a  conmiittee  to  investigate  the  convents,  and  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  were  grossly  insulted  by  men  appointed  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts ;  yet  in  a  few  days  the  papers  rang  with 
exposure  of  the  notorious  character  of  some  of  these  very  men. 
In  1859  a  Catholic  pupil  in  the  Eliot  School  was  flogged  for 
declining  to  repeat  the  spurious  form  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  used 
by  Protestants.  A  court  acquitted  the  teacher,  but  Bishop 
Fitzpatrick  addressed  the  School  Board  in  a  most  masterly 
document,  in  which  he  showed  the  injustice  of  the  enforced 
use  of  the  Protestant  version  of  the  Bible,  the  enforced  learning 
of  the  Ten  Commandments  in  the  Protestant  form,  and  the 
enforced  repeating  of  the  spurious  form  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
TLc  bishop  at  once  set  to  work  to  make  Catholics  independent 
of  the  State  schools,  which  were  conducted  in  such  disregard 
of  the  rights  of  conscience.  The  Jesuit  Fathers  opened  Boston 
College ;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  an  academy  and  hospital  at  Wor- 
cester; parish  schools  were  established  in  Boston,  South  and 
Ea'it  Boston,  Salem,  and  Lawrence.        ' 

As  business  had  grown  around  the  old  cathedral,  Bishop 
Fitzpatrick,  to  his  sorrow,  saw  that  it  must  soon  be  removed.  He 
purchased  a  fine  site,  and  plans  were  prepared  for  a  noble  edifice ; 
but  he  deferred  the  work,  so  many  necessary  churches  and  institu- 
tions demanded  the  resources  of  the  faithful.  His  health  was 
never  robust,  and  on  the  14th  of  December,  1864,  he  was  seized 
with  violent  pains,  and,  though  his  condition  became  critical, 
he  would  not  disturb  the  priests  in  the  house.  When  one  came 
at  last  the  bishop  was  senseless  on  the  fl  )or,  bathed  in  his  own 
blood.  Extreme  Unction  was  administered.  He  never  regained 
health  or  strength,  and  expired  on  the  13th  of  February,  1866. 

Reduced  as  his  diocese  was  in  extent,  he  left  it  with  115 
churches,  110  priests,  an  asylum,  an  hospital,  a  reformatory, 
coUegei,  and  schools. 


is  heart 
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edifice ; 
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egained 
1866. 
th  115 
matory, 


*5 


Mosi  Rkv.  JOHJf  J.  WIL1.IAMS,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  Eoston,  Mass. 


iVP^ *«>*■■»?    £»■  '.^-.Jt-.i. 


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DIOCESE  OF  BOSTON. 


91 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  WILLIAMS, 

Fov/rth  Bishop  and  Mrst  Archhiahop  of  Boston. 

John  Joseph  Williams  was  born  'to.  Boston  on  the  27tb 
of  April,  1822,  his  parents  having  emigrated  from  Irel.Tid  to 
that  city.  His  first  rudiments  were  acquired  in  the  public 
primary  school,  but  when  a  Catholic  school  was  opened  at 
the  cathedral  in  1827,  under  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Fitton,  Tyler,  and 
Wiley,  then  young  seminarians,  the  future  archbishop  was 
one  of  the  first  scholars  at  the  opening  of  this  humble  seat  of 
learning.  In  1833  he  entered  the  College  of  Montreal,  directed 
by  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice,  and  there  was  duly  graduated  after 
a  course  of  eight  years.  Feeling  called  to  serve  God  in  his 
sanctuary,  he  went  to  the  great  seminary  of  the  Sulpitians  in 
Paris,  where  he  made  his  theological  course,  and  was  ordained 
by  Monseigneur  Affre,  Archbishop  of  Paris,  in  1845. 

On  his  return  to  Boston  he  was  stationed  at  the  cathedral,  and 
for  ten  years,  from  November  1, 1845,  directed  the  Sunday-school. 
In  1*^55  he  was  appointed  rector  of  the  cathedral,  and,  after 
discharging  the  duties  of  that  position  for  two  years,  became 
pastor  of  St.  James'  Church,  Boston,  and  vicar-general  of  the 
diocese.  His  administration  as  parish  priest  had  >hown  his 
ability  and  discretion,  as  well  as  the  possession  of  tiie  highest 
sacerdotal  qualifications. 

As  the  health  of  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  became  precarious,  the 
Very  Rev.  Mr.  Williams  was  elected  titular  BiBiiop  of  Tripoli 
and  coadjutor,  January  9,  1866,  but  before  his  consecration 
Bishop  Fitzpatrick  breathed  his  last.  He  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Boston  to  which  he  had  succeeded  on  the  11th  of 
March,  1866,  Archbishop  McCloskey  officiating. 

Under  his  impulse  the  development  of  churches  and  in- 
stitutions went  on.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Madame  d'You- 
ville's  foundation,  commonly  called  Gray  Nuns,  came  from 
Montreal  in  1866  to  labor  in  the  diocese,  as  did  the  Sisters  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis.  Lowell  had  a  convent  with 
hospital  and  schools ;  Chicopee  had  its  convent ;  Boston  saw 
a  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  begun.    Then  came  a  couvent 


-\M 


93 


THE  OATHOLIO  HIEItAR0H7  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Worcester.  The  secular  clergy,  already 
aided  in  their  labors  by  the  Jesuits,  Franciscans,  Oblates,  and 
Augustinians,  were  soon  joined  by  the  Redemptorists.  Schools 
marked  the  real  progress. 

In  1870  the  diocese*  contained  148  churches  with  183  priests, 
and  a  division  was  deemed  seasonable.  A  see  was  erected  in 
June  at  Springfield,  with  a  diocese  embracing  five  counties ;  and 
in  1872  the  diocese  of  Providence  took  from  Boston  Bristol, 
Barnstable,  and  part  of  Plymouth  counties.  On  the  12th  of 
February,  1875,  Boston  was  made  an  archiepiscopal  see,  and  a 
new  ecclesiastical  province  was  instituted,  Boston  being  metro- 
politan, and  Portland,  Burlington,  Springfield,  Hartford,  and 
Providence  being  the  suffragans.  Archbishop  Williams  re- 
ceived the  pallium  from  the  hands  of  Archbishop  McCloskey. 

One  of  the  great  desires  of  Archbishop  Williams  was  grati- 
fied in  1884 — ^the  opening  of  a  theological  seminary,  under  the 
direction  of  the  l^ulpitians,  in  a  fine  building  which  had  been 
for  some  years  in  progress.  At  this  time  his  diocese  contained 
about  320,000  Catholics,  attended  by  300  priests,  and  having 
167  churches. 

At  this  writing  (1891),  there  are,  in  this  diocese,  350  priests, 
175  churches  and  chapels,  and  510,000  adherents  to  the  Catholic 
•Church. 


mOCESE  OF  i^lHICAGO. 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  QUARTER, 

First  Bishop  of  Chicago. 

William  Quarter  was  bom  in  Killurine,  Kings  County,  Ire- 
land, January  24,  1806.  The  piety  of  his  parents  can  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  three  of  their  sons  became  priests.  After  pre- 
liminary studies  at  Tullamore  he  was  preparing  to  enter  Maynooth 
when  the  wants  o£  the  mission  in  the  United  States,  as  described 
by  a  priest  from  this  country,  induced  him  to  come  to  America 
in  1822.  He  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  where,  under 
the  direction  of  Rev.  Mesf^?.  Du  Bois  and  Brut^,  he  was  formed 
for  his  priestly  career.  Following  Bishop  Du  Bois  to  New  York, 
he  was  ordained  September  4,  1829.  As  assist  mt  at  St.  Peter's 
he  was  instrumental  in  introducing  the  Sisters  of  Charity  into 
that  parish,  and  shoAved  such  devotedness  in  the  cholera  reason 
of  1832  that  his  exaraple  led  to  conversions.  Appointed  the 
next  year  to  St.  Mary's  Church,  he  completed  it,  introduced 
Sisters  of  Charity,  established  a  free  school  and  academy.  For 
eleven  years  he  wafj  the  devoted,  wiae,  and  careful  pastor  of  his 
flock,  keeping  up  the  faith  in  their  hearts,  and  receiving  many 
converts — among  others  a  Lutheran  minister,  Rev.  Maximilian 
Oejtel — into  the  Church.  Having  been  appointed  to  the  see  of 
Chicago,  he  was- consecrated  on  the  10th  of  March,  1844.  He  at 
once  ^et  to  work  to  organize  the  new  diocese,  beginning  a  cathe- 
dral, college,  and  seminary,  and  introduced  the  Sisters  of  Mercy. 
He  made  strenuous  efforts  to  obtain  priests  for  all  congregation^ 
able  to  maintain  them,  and  v/hen  he  convoked  his  diocesan  sjfa<yd  "^^ '*^ 
he  could  number  foi-ty-one.  Bishop  Quarter  established  con- 
ferences and  sought  to  maintain  a  true  spirit  in  his  clergy, 
while  he  himself  was  untiring  in  preaching  and  mission  work. 


96 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIERAROHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


His  health,  however,  failed  rapidly,  and  he  died  rather  suddenly 
April  10,  1848,  in  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  after  receiving 
all  the  sacraments.     -  -  , 


EIGHT  REV.  JAMES  OLIVER  VAN  DE  VELDE, 

Second  Bishop  of  GhicagQ  and  Second  of  Natchez. 

James  Oliv  )  r  van  de  Velde  was  born  near  Termonde,  Bel- 
gium, April  8  1795,  and  was  educated  piously  by  a  priest  who 
escaped  fii  ;ji  .be  Roign  of  Terror  in  France.  He  entered  the 
seminai-j  a  f  Mechlin,  and  was  teaching  there  when  the  apostolic 
Mr.  Neriiu  kx  visited  Belgium  to  invite  young  aspirants  to  , 
the  priesthoo'  o  give  their  services  to  the  American  mission. 
Young  Mr.  Van  de  Velde  at  once  volunteered,  but  he  re- 
ceived an  injury  on  the  voyage,  so  that  he  had  to  be  carried 
to  St.  Mary's  College.  On  recovering  he  entered  the  novitiate 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  was  ordained  September  25,  1827.  ' 
After  some  missionary  labors  in  the  rural  districts  of  Maryland, 
he  was  made  professor  of  rhetoric  and  mathematics  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  St.  Louis.  He  became  successively  vice-president  and 
president  of  that  institution,  and  represented  the  vice-province  at 
Rome  and  at  the  Sixth  Council  of  Baltimore.  As  vice-provin- 
cial he  erected  several  churches  and  extended  the  Indian  mis- 
sions. Appointed  to  the  see  of  Chicago  in  1848,  he  yielded 
only  when  it  was  decided  that  the  ^;  tills  v  ere  imperative.  He 
was  consecrated  in  the  church  of  the  university,  F*  bruary'  11, 
1849,  and  proceeded  to  Illinois.  He  made  a  visitation  of  his 
diocese,  and  founded  two  asylums  to  care  for  the  orphans  whose 
parents  had  been  carried  off  by  the  cholera.  The  climate  of 
Chicago  proved  very  severe  to  Bishop  Van  de  Velde,  and  a 
factious  opposition  in  the  diocese  caused  him  great  pain.  He 
wished  to  resign,  but  a  new  see  was  erected  at  Quincy,  and  after 
a  visit  to  Rome  he  lesumed  his  visitations  and  other  episcopal 
duties  till  he  was  transferred  to  Natchez,  Julj-  ?!9,  1863.     He  +cft 


DIOOBSE  OF  CHICAGO. 


97 


Gliicago  on  the  3d  of  November  and  proceeded  to  Mississippi, 
where  he  was  hospitably  and  warmly  welcomed.  Here  he 
labored  zealously  for  two  years.  On  the  23d  of  October,  1856, 
he  fell,  causing  a  compound  fracture  of  the  leg.  Fever  set  in, 
which  took  the  character  of  the  deadly  yellow  fever,  and,  after 
receiving  the  last  rites  with  great  devotion,  Bishop  Van  de  Velde 
expired  on  the  13th  of  November,  1865. 


He 

after 
copal 
le  +vft 


RIGHT  REV.  ANTHONY  O'REGAN, 

Third  Bishop  of  Chicago. 

Right  Rev.  Anthony  O'Regan  was  bom  in  the  parish  of 
Kiltulla,  Ireland,  and,  becoming  connected  with  the  diocese  of 
St.  Louis,  soon  attained  eminent  positions.  He  was  vicar-gene- 
ral of  that  diocese,  president  of  the  seminary  at  Carondelet,  filling 
also  the  chairs  of  theology  aqd  Sacred  Scripture. 

After  the  transfer  of  Bishop  Van  de  Velde  the  affairs  of  the 
diocefcie  of  Chicago  fell  into  great  disorder,  «rid  the  position  of 
bishop  was  declined  by  the  clergyman  first  selected.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  O'Regan  was  nominated,  but  declined  till  what  was  almost 
a  peremptory  order  in  1854  induced  him  to  accept  the  burden, 
and  he  was  consecrated  July  25,  1854.  Possessing  great  ad- 
ministrative ability,  he  set  to  work  in  earnest,  restored  discipline 
and  order.  He  introduced  system  into  the  affairs  of  the  dio- 
cese, to  which  he  gave  much  anxious  thought.  His  methods 
and  administration,  hovever,  excited  some  complaint,  and,  after 
spenping two  years  and  a  half  in  the  diocese.  Bishop  O'Regan  pro- 
ceeded to  Rome,  anxious  to  lay  down  a  dignity  which  he  had 
never  sought.  His  earnest  petition  for  leave  to  resign  was 
granted,  and  he  was  transferred  to  the  see  ^f  Dora,  June  25, 
1858,  He  never  returned  to  America,  but  took  up  his  residence 
in  London,  where  he  died  November  13,  1866,  leaving  bequests 
for  the  education  of  clergymen  for  the  diocese  over  which  he 
tad  presided  and  for  erecting  an  hospital  in  Chicago, 


98 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIERABOHT  VSf  THE  UKITBD  STATES 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  DUGGAN, 

Coacfjutor-Biahop  of  St.  Louis  and  fourth  Bishop  of  Ohioago, 

James  Duooait  was  born  in  the  diocese  of  Dublin,  Ireland, 
in  the  year  1 825,  and  came  early  in  life  to  this  country.  Hav- 
ing attached  himself  to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  he  was  ordained 
by  dispensation,  under  the  canonical  age,  when  only  twenty-two. 
May  29,  1847,  by  Archbishop  Kenrick.  Notwithstanding  his 
youth,  he  was  made  superior  of  the  St.  Louis  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Carondelet,  and  subsequently  acted  as  one  of  the  profes- 
sors. In  1850  he  was  attached  to  the  cathedral,  and  in  1854  was 
made  one  of  the  vicars-general  of  the  diocese  and  pastor  of  the 
church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  He  was  regarded  as  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  eloquent  priests  in  the  diocese,  and  his 
selection  to  aid  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  his  arduous  duties  was 
cordially  approved.  He  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Gabala  and 
coadjutor  of  St.  Louis  January  9,  1857,  and  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Antigone  May  3,  1857.  He  rendered  efficient  aid  to 
Archbishop  Kenrick  in  the  administration  of  the  diocese ;  on  the 
retirement  of  Bishop  O'Regan  he  was  made  administrator  of 
Chicago  and  finally  bishop  of  that  see.  His  health,  never  strong, 
soon  gave  way,  and,  leaving  his  diocese,  he  proceeded  to  Europe. 
While  there  complaints  were  made  against  his  administration,  on 
learning  of  which  he  returned  to  his  diocese  and  removed  some 
of  the  remonstrants.  The  matter  was  referred  to  the  Archbishop 
of  St.  Louis,  but,  as  Bishop  Duggai\'s  accusers  neglected  to  ap- 
pear and  prove  their  charges,  they  fell  to  the  ground.  It  was 
soon  evident,  however,  that  his  mind  had  given  away,  and  that 
he  was  not  accountable  for  many  of  his  acts.  His  mental 
malady  increased  in  1869  to  such  an  extent  that  recovery  was 
deemed  doubtful.  He  was  accordingly  removed  to  an  asylum 
in  Missouri  and  arrangements  were  made  for  the  administration 
of  the  unhappy  diocese.    Bishop  Dugg.in  never  recovered. 


DI00B8B  OF  OHIOAOO. 


»9 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  FOLEY, 
\   bishop  of  Pergavfrna  and  Administrator  of  Chicago. 

Thomas  Foley  was  bom  in  Baltimore,  March  6,  1823,  and, 
trained  in  piety  from  his  youth,  early  evinced  a  vocation  for  the 
priesthood.  He  entered  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  where  he  soon 
became  one  of  the  prefects.  The  rites  and  ceremonial  of  the 
Church  were  a  favorite  study,  and  this  led  to  his  selection  as 
master  of  ceremonies  at  the  Fifth  Provincial  Council.  He  was 
ordained  by  Archbishop  Eccleston  August  17,  1846,  and  was 
appointed  pastor  of  Rockville.  After  being  r«ssistant  at  St. 
Patrick's,  Washington,  he  was  from  1848  connected  with  thff 
cathedral,  Baltimore,  and  for  some  years  was  chancellor  of  the 
diocese.  He  acted  as  secretary  at  the  first  and  sef  nd  Plenary 
Councils,  and  from  1867  was  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  His 
merit  and  ability  were  widely  known,  and  important  duties  were 
evidently  in  store  for  him.  He  was  selected  for  the  difficult 
task  of  restoring  discipline  and  order  in  the  diocese  of  Chicago, 
which  Bishop  Duggan's  acts,  while  his  malady  was  unsuspected, 
had  involved  in  great  difficulties.  Rev.  Mr.  Foley  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Pergamus  and  coadjutor  of  Chicago  on  the  19th  of 
November,  1869,  and  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral,  Balti- 
more, February  27,  1870,  by  Bishop  McCloskey,  of  Louisville. 
His  expenence  in  diocesan  management  enabled  him  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  diocese  of  Chicago.  New  parishes  with 
churches  were  required,  and  in  some  parts  there  were  old 
wooden  churches  no  longer  serviceable*  Bishop  Foley  inspired 
his  clergy  with  zeal  and  activity,  and  his  financial  ability  kept 
the  outlay  for  new  churches  within  reasonable  bounds  and 
established  a  credit  which  made  necessary  loans  easy.  While 
Catholic  Chicago  was  thus  full  of  hope  it  was  visited  by  the 
terrible  conflagration  which  swept  away  seven  churches  with 
their  pap.toral  residences  and  parochial  schools,  the  hospital  of 
'he  Alexian  Brothers,  an  orphan  asylum,  the  House  of  Provi- 
dence, St,  Xavier's  Academy  and  Convent,  and  the  select  school 
conducted  by  tjij.e  Cl)j:i^tiaii  Brothero.    St.  Mary's,  the  cradle  of 


.':*fl 


iOO 


THE  CATHOLIO  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  9TA    BS. 


Catholicity  in  the  city,  was  one  ol  tho  buildings  devoured  by  the 
flames.  The  bishv^p  and  his  clergy  set  to  work  with  energy  to 
repair  this  terribl<'  loss,  alt)  )U^]i  the  parishioners  had  been 
scattered  far  and  wide  by  the  confl  ^'ration;  but  as  the  chy 
was  rebuilt  and  spread  Catholic  churches  and  institutions  kept 
pace  with  its  progress.  The  cathe«lrHl  of  the  Holy  Narie  rose 
from  its  ashes  by  his  energy.  Eight  years'  labor  had  given  ♦^he 
diocese  a  new  life  and  spirit.  Under  his  administration  the 
prioHts  in  the  diocese  had  increased  from  one  hundred  and  forty- 
two  to  two  hundred  and  six,  an<l  his  churches  from  about  two 
hundred  to  fully  three  hundred.  Five  new  convents  and  seven 
academies  had  been  begun,  and  he  had  erected  a  new  cathedral. 

Everything  promised  a  season  of  needed  ost  for  Bishop 
"Foley  amid  a  clergy  and  people  who  had  learned  to  admire  him, 
but  while  returning  from  a  filial  visit  to  his  mother  in  Baltimore 
he  contracted  a  heavy  cold  and  Avas  stricken  down  by  pneu- 
monia in  February,  1879.  His  strength,  exhausted  by  his  years 
of  labor,  could  not  resist  the  disease,  and  he  expired  on  the  19  th. 

During  his  administration  the  diocese  of  Chicago  was  again 
divided,  and  a  new  see  estabTialied  at  Peoria,  its  diocese  being 
increased,  after  Bishop  Foley'F  death,  by  the  addition  of  some 
counties  taken  from  thr.t  of  Chicago. 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  A.  FEEHAN, 

Tkwd  Bishop  of  Nashville^  First  Archbishop  of  Chicago. 

Patrick  A.  Feehan  was  born  in  the  County  Tipperary,  Ire- 
land, and  was  educated  at  the  celebrated  Seminary  of  Maynooth. 
Having  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  the  American  mission,  he 
came  to  St.  Louis  in  1852,  and  was  appointed  superior  of  the 
seminary  at  Carondelet.  As  pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception  in  St.  Louis,  which  position  he  filled  for 
9eTeral  years,  he  acquired  reputation  as  a  devoted  priest,  able  in 


Most  Rev.  P.  A.  Feehan,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


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the  pulpit  and  in  the  direction  pf  the  manifold  affairs  which 
devolve  on  the  head  of  a  parish  in  this  country.  When  Bishop 
Whelan  resigned  the  see  of  Nashville  the  Bev.  Mr.  Feehan  was 
elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  on  the  7th  of  July,  1865.  The  pro- 
gress  of  Catholicity  in  Tennessee  Eas  never  been  rapid,  but  un- , 
der  the  energetic  impulse  given  by  Bishop  Feehan  progress  was 
very  marked.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  1st  of  November, 
1865,  and  proceeded  to  the  State  of  Tennessee,  which  had  been 
one  of  the  battle-grounds  of  the  war,  many  of  the  inhabitants 
being  arrayed  on  each  side.  Amid  the  din  of  arms  religion  had 
suffered  greatly,  and  Bishop  Feehan  found  not  more  than  tweTve 
priests  or  churches  in  his  diocese.  By  the  year  1879  the  diocese 
of  Nashville  reported  twenty-seven  priests,  twenty-nine  churches, 
a  college  under  the  Christian  Brothers,  academies  and  parochial 
schools  under  Dominican  Sisters,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  of  St  Joseph, 
Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Sisters  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood. 
There  was,  too,  a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd 
with  its  usual  Refuge,  and  two  orphan  asylunis.  Yet  the  diocese 
had  been  visited  by  the  terrible  yellow  fever  at  Memphis  the 
year  before ;  nine  priests  and  thirteen  Sisters  died  there  attend' 
ing  the  sick,  among  them  the  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  the 
Very  Rev.  Martin  O'Riordan. 

The  death  of  Bishop  Foley  left  Chicago  unprovided ;  and  as 
the  lapse  of  years  had  shown  Bishop  Duggan's  malady  to  be 
incurable,  the  Holy  See  created  Chicago  a  metropolitan  see, 
making  Peoria  and  Alton  its  suffragans,  and  promoted  Bishop 
Feehan  to  the  newly-erected  archiepiscopal  throne  September 
10,  1880.  The  archbishop  has  more  than  maintained  the  CathO' 
lie  interests  in  Chicago ;  indeed,  the  growth  is  said  to  exceed 
that  at  any  former  period.  In  three  years  nine  new  parishes 
were  established  in  Chicago  alone.  He  has  placed  on  a  solid 
basis  St.  Mary's  Training  School  for  Boys,  an  excellent  institu- 
tion in  charge  of  the  Christian  Brothers. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  1883,  the  archbishop  and  his  flock  cele- 
brated the  Catholic  semi-centennial,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  the  oldest  Catholic  church 
in  the  city.  Fifty  years  before  Catholicity  in  what  is  now  the 
diocese  of  Chicago  could  boast  one  church,  one  priest,  and  about 


102 


THB  OATHOLIO  BIBRABOHT  IK  THB  UNITED  8TATB8. 


800  adherents.  Eleven  years  later,  in  1844,  it  could  boast  only 
five  priests  and  very  few  churches.  In  1884  the  diocese,  indiud- 
ing  only  a  portion  of  the  State,  contained  286  priests,  184 
churches,  two  colleges,  eighteen  academies,  four  hospitals,  eight 
asylums,  a  Catholic  population  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
million,  more  than   one-tenth  being  pupils  in  Catholic  schools. 

In  November,  1884,  Archbishop  Feehan  attended  the  grand 
convention  of  the  episcopate  in  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore. 

The  statistics  for  the  present  year  (1891)  show  a  Catholic 
po'pulation  of  460,000,  with  328  priests,  320  churches  and  chapels, 
4  colleges,  22  academies,  and  100  parochial  schools. 


t  I 


DIOCESE  OF  CINCINNATL 


RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  FENWICK, 

Firat  Bishop  of  Omcimiati. 

t 

Edward  D.  Fbnwiok  was  bom  in  St.  Mary's  County,  Mary- 
land, in  1768,  of  a  pious  Ciatliolic  family  wliicli  had  adhered  to 
the  faith  fromjthe  colonization  of  the  colony,  and  which  in  his 
person  gave  a  second  of  its  descendants  to  the  young  episcopate 
of  the  United  States.  Having  been  sent  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
to  the  Dominican  college  at  Bornheim,  in  Flanders,  he  went 
through  his  studies  with  distinction,  and,  feeling  called  to  the  re* 
ligious  life,  entered  the  order  of  St.  Dominic  as  a  novice.  He 
spent  several  years  in  the  quiet  seclusion,  dficharging  the  du* 
ties  of  professor  and  procurator,  till  the  armies  of  revolutionary 
France  overran  the  Low  Countries.  The  convent  was  seized  and 
Father  Fenwick  and  his  brethren  were  thrown  into  prison  as 
Englishmen.  Procuring  his  release  as  an  American  citizen,  he 
joined  the  Dominicans  of  his  province  in  England ;  but,  as  he 
was  desirous  of  laboring  in  his  native  land,  he  obtained  from 
the  general  of  the  order  permission  to  conduct  a  colony  of  Fri* 
ars  Preachers  to  the  United  States.  He  was  chosen  superior  of 
the  new  mission  and  sailed  for  this  country  with  three  fathers. 
Bishop  Carroll  welcomed  them  earnestly  and  assigned  them  to 
duty  in  Kentucky.  There  Father  Fenwick  purchased  a  farm  in 
"Washington  County  in  1805,  and  founded  St.  Rose's  convent  in 
the  following  year.  Their  missions  soon  extended  to  Ohio, 
where  many  scattered  Catholics  were  found.  Resigning  the  of- 
fice of  provincial  to  another.  Father  Fenwick  devoted  himself 
entirely  to  the  Ohio  mission,  and  was  constantly  rewarded  by 
discovering  little  communities  of  Catholics,  who  hailed  hia  ad- 


m 


104 


THE  OATHOUO  HIERAROHT  IN  THE  UMITBD  STATES. 


vent  with  joy.  Missions  were  established  at  Somerset,  Dayton, 
and  Cincinnati.  Mr.  Peter  Dittoe  presented  him  a  farm  in  Perry 
County,  on  condition  that  he  established  a  convent  of  his  order 
upon  it,  and  Father  Fenwick  took  up  his  residence  there  with 
another  religious,  their  numbers  being  soon  increased.  From 
this  centre  the  missions  in  Ohio  were  regularly  attended,  and 
churches  wore  gradually  erected  at  different  points.  Bishop 
Flaget,  whose  diocese  embraced  that  State,  urged  the  erection 
of  a  new  diocese  north  of  the  Ohio  River.  In  1789  there  had 
been  an  attempt  to  colonize  the  Scioto  country  with  emigrants 
from  France,  and  it  was  proposed  to  give  them  a  separate  supe^ 
rior,  subject,  however,  to  Bishop  Carroll ;  but  the  settlers  were 
not  earnestly  devoted  to  their  faith  and  never  even  had  a  priest. 
On  the  19th  of  June,  1821,  Pope  Pius  YII.  created  the  diocese 
of  Cincinnati  and  appointed  Edward  Fenwick  the  first  bishop. 
Beceiving  consecration  at  the  hands  of  Bishop  Flaget,  January 
13,  1822,  Bishop  Fenwick  proceeded  to  Cincinnati,  where  he 
hired  a  little  house  and  sent  Out  to  purchase  a  meal.  The  city 
possessed  a  little  frame  church  about  a  mile  from  the  limits. 
Removing  this  into  the  city.  Dr.  Fenwick  made  it  his  cathedral^ 
but  in  the  course  of  two  years  it  was  too  small  for  his  congrega- 
tion. The  wants  of  his  diocese,  which  he  estimated  as  contain- 
ing,then  eight  thousand  Catholics,  appalled  him;  he  borrowed  a 
hundred  dollars  and  set  out  for  Rome  to  ask  the  Pope  to  relieve 
him  of  his  episcopate.  Pope  Leo  XII.  consoled  and  encouraged 
the  pious  bishop,  and  many  charitable  persons  contributed  to  aid 
the  cause  of  religion  in  Ohio.  The  Association  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Faith,  recently  established  at  Lyons,  joined  in  the 
good  work.  Bishop  Fenwick  returned  to  his  diocese  with  fresh 
hopes ;  he  erected  a  cathedral  and  began  a  series  of  missions,  es- 
tablishing churches  and,  where  possible,  schools,  confiding  tham 
to  the  Poor  Clares,  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Dominican  nuns.  In 
his  laborious  visitations,  which  extended  over  Michigan  and  Wis- 
consin— ^then  called  Northwest  Territory — ^he  visited  the  Catholic 
Indians,  whose  faith  he  revived.  After  attending  the  first  coun- 
cil of  Baltimore  he  resumed  his  apostolical  journeys  in  search  of 
souls.  While  thus  devotedly  performing  the  duty  of  a  good 
shepherd  he  was  struck  down  by  the  cholera  at  Saut  Ste.  Marie^ 


but 

Canto 

on,  on 

Ohio. 

churcl 

tion 

tions, 


DIOOESB  OF  CINCINNATI. 


105 


Dayton, 
in  Perry 
lis  order 
are  with 
From 
led,  and 

Bishop 
erection 
ere  had 
aigrants 
te  supe- 
jrs  were 
t  priest, 
diocese 
bishop. 
January 
here  he 
rhe  city 

limits, 
thedral^ 
ng-rega- 
!ontain- 
owed  a 
relieve 
uraged 

to  aid 
ropaga* 

in  the 
fresh 
)ns,  es- 
j  tham 
IS.  In 
dWis. 
a,tholic 

coun- 
irch  of 
good 
Marie^ 


but  rallied  sufSciently  to  visit  Arbre  Oroche  and  Detroit.  At 
Oanton  he  was  again  seized  with  the  cholera,  but  heroically  kept 
on,  only  to  die  the  next  day,  September  26,  1832,  at  Wooster, 
Ohio.  This  apostolic  bishop,  thus  prematurely  cut  off,  left  twenty 
churches  and  thirty  priests  attending  the  large  Catholic  popula- 
tion whom  his  untiring  labors  had  united  in  zealous  congrega- 
tions, in  a  State  where  he  had  been  the  pioneer  priest. 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  BAPTIST  PURCELL, 

Second  Bialwp  and  Mrst  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati, 

The  successor  of  Bishop  Fenwick  was  for  many  years  one 
of  the  most  notable  and  influential  members  of  the  American 
hierarchy.  John  -Baptist  Purcell  was  bom  at  Mallow,  Ireland, 
on  the  ■  26th  of  February,  1800.  After  making  a  successful 
course  of  study  he  came  to  the  United  States  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  and  soon  became  engaged  in  teaching.  But  his  wish 
was  to  enter  the  priesthood,  and,  having  secured  admission  into 
Mount  St.  Mary's  Oollege,  he  evinced  such  talent  that  he  was  sent 
to  St.  Sulpice,  in  Paris,  to  complete  his  course.  On  his  return 
he  became  president  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  acting  also  as 
professor.  The  institution  flourished  under  his  direction.  He 
was  appointed  to  the  see  of  Cincinnati  and  consecrated  October 
13,  1833,  his  diocese  comprising  the  State  of  Ohiio,  with  Coving- 
ton,  in  Kentucky ;  Michigan  and  the  other  portions  of  the  diocese 
having  been  placed  under  a  bishop  at  Detroit.  The  State  of 
Ohio  contained  about  six  thousand  Catholics,  who  had  sixteen 
churches,  attended  by  fourteen  priests.  He  entered  on  his  work 
with  zeal,  and  to  an  advanced  age  performed  all  the  duties  of  a 
missionary  priest.  The  institutions  were  the  Dominican  con- 
vent and  seminary  at  Somerset,  and  an  orphan  asylum  and 
school  in  Cincinnati  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  with 
the  AthensBum,  the  nucleus  of  a  college,  at  Cincinnati.  By  the 
impulse  of  his  zeal  new  churches  and  institutions  arose,  exciting 


106 


THE  OATHOLIO  HIBRARCHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATE& 


fanatical  alarm,  whicli  was  fanned  by  men  like  Beecher  and 
Morse.  Challenged  to  a  coiitroversy  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell, 
Bishop  Purcell  refuted  him  and  established  a  name  as  a  theolo- 
gian and  polemic.  He  drew  religious  orders  in  to  aid  his  work : 
the  Jesuits  took  charge  of  the  Athenaeum,  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  from  Namur  and  the  Brothers  of  Mary  opened  academies 
and  schools,  the  Priests  of  the  Precious  Blood  began  mission  la- 
bors among  the  Germans^  while  the  Ursulines  founded  their  pros- 
perous convent  in  Brown  County.  In  1846  Ohio  boasted  seventy 
thousand  Catholics,  with  seventy  churches  and  seventy-th^ee 
priests.  Bishop  Purcell  obtained  the  erection  of  a  new  bishop's 
see  at  Cleveland,  the  diocese  being  that  part  of  the  State  north 
of  40°  41'.  In  1850  Cincinnati  was  made  an  archiepiscopal  see 
by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  and  the  bishops  of  Cleveland,  Detroit,  Louis- 
ville, and  Vincennes  became  suffragans  of  Archbishop  Purcell. 
His  next  great  step  was  the  establishment  of  a  theological  semi- 
'nary,  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West.  The  suffragan  bishops 
and  their  metropolitan  held  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  Cin- 
cinnati in  May,  1855,  and  a  second  council  was  held  three  years 
later,  after  Covington  had  in  1853  been  placed  under  the  care 
of  a  resident  bishop.  It  was  attended  by  the  bishops  of  De- 
troit, Cleveland,  Louisville,  Covington,  Saut  Ste.  Marie,  and  Fort 
Wayne.  The  decrees  of  these  Qouncils  show  eminently  how 
fully  Archbishop  Purcell  understood  the  wants  of  the  Catholic 
community.  The  necessity  of  giving  a  thorough  religious  edu- 
cation to  the  young  was  paramount  in  his  mind.  He  prepared 
the  first  series  of  Catholic  school-books ;  he  urged  the  erection 
of  Catholic  schools,  and  introduced  religious  to  guide  them.  To 
create  churches  and  schools  rapidly  enough  to  meet  the  wants 
of  the  thousands  pouring  into  his  diocese  was  a  problem.  The 
new  congregations,  composed  of  people  who  had  all  to  acquire, 
were  unable  to  meet  the  cost.  Borrowing  became  necessary. 
In  an  evil  hour,  as  it  proved,  Archbishop  Purcell  permitted  his 
brother,  the  vicar-general,  to  accept  deposits  of  money.  Unac- 
quainted with  business,  with  no  financial  capacity,  keeping  no 
records  or  accounts,  that  official  brought  ruin  in  time  to  the 
archbishop  and  the  diocese. 

In  1862  he  obtained   a  coadjutor  in  the  person  of  Bev. 


A 


JIOOBSB  OF  OINOINNATI. 


1#7 


Rev. 


Sylvester  H.  Rosecrans,  an  able  and  energetic  clergyman,  who 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Pompeiopolis  and  Auxiliary  Bishop  of 
Cincinnati  on  March  25,  1862.  Bt^t  though  religion  received 
new  progress  from  this  aid,  the  archbishop  felt  that  more  could 
be  effected  by  again  dividing  the  diocese,  and  in  1868  the 
diocese  of  Columbus  was  established,  of  which  his  auxiliar, 
Bishop  Rosecrans,  was  made  the  first  ordinary.  After  tliis 
division  the  once  extensive  diocese  of  Cincinnati  comprised  oily 
that  part  of  the  State  lying  south  of  40°  41',  being  the  counties 
south  of  the  northern  line  of  Mercer,  Allen,  and  Hardin  counties, 
and  all  west  of  the  eastern  line  of  Marion,  Union,  and  Madison 
counties,  and  all  west  of  the  Scioto  River  to  the  Ohio.  Even 
thus  restricted  the  diocese  contained  139,000  Catholics,  115 
churches,  with  7  in  course  of  erection,  13  chapels,  and  42  stations, 
attended  by  135  priests.  There  were  76  parochial  schools,  with 
9  academies  and  3  colleges. 

In  1869  Archbishop  Purcell  attended  the  (Ecumenical  Coun- 
cil of  the  Vatican,  and  was  prominent  in  its  debates  on  the 
question  of  defining  the  infallibility  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
when  deciding  questions  of  faith  and  morals  ex  cathed/ra — ^that  is, 
when  formally  and  distinctly  brought  before  him  as  the  supreme 
judicial  authority  in  the  Church.  Archbishop  Purcell,  like  some 
others,  was  averse  to  a  distinct  declaration  on  the  question. 

On  the  23d  of  May,  1876,  the  golden  jubilee  of  his  ordina- 
tion was  celebrated  by  his  flock  with  solemn  services  in  the 
cathedral,  attended  by  societies  in  processions,  and  crowds  of 
priests  and  laymen.  Catholic  and  Protestant,  who  came  to  offer 
their  congratulations,  it*  was  the  bright  and  brilliant  prelude 
of  a  sad  and  temble  affliction. 

Early  in  1879  financial  affairs  which  had  been  managed 
by  the  Very  Rev.  Edward  Purcell  ended  in  bankruptcy.  How 
it  all  came  about  must  ever  remain  a  mystery.  The  venerable 
archbishop,  as  ignorant  as  a  child  of  the  system  and  its  extent, 
at  once  came  forward  and  assumed  the  whole  responsibility  of 
his  brother's  operations.  This  only  complicated  matters  and 
raised  a  host  of  legal  questions  as  to  his  ability,  in  character 
of  trustee  for  the  Catholic  Church  in  his,  diocese,  to  assume  «i^^ 
individual  indebtedness  contracted  by  another ;  and  if  he  could) 


1Q3 


THB  OATHOUO  HIBRABOHT  IN  THB  UNITED  BTAT1B8. 


it  became  necessary  to  decide  what  property  became  liable  for 
it,  that  owned  by  the  diocese  or  the  property  of  every  Catholic 
church  and  institution  in  the  diocese.  If  the  debt  became  a 
just  charge  on  the  whole  diocese  and  all  its  churches  and  in- 
stitutions, it  was  a  debt  on  every  Catholic,  which  he  was  bound 
in  conscience  to  pay.  This  extreme  view  no  theologian  or  can- 
onist was  found  to  take. 

The  debts  were  at  iirst  supposed  not  to  exceed  a  quarter  of  a 
million  of  dollars,  and  attempts  were  made  to  meet  or  reduce  it 
materially  by  subscriptions ;  but  when  it  was  found  that  the 
indebtedness  reached  nearly  four  millions  of  dollars  the  attempt 
was  abandoned  as  hopeless.  The  Very  Rev.  Edward  Purcell 
died  broken-hearted.  The  archbishop  made  an  assignment  of  all 
property  in  his  name,  and  long  litigations  began.  The  courts 
ultimately  decided  that  the  individual  congregations  were  not 
liable  except  for  moneys  actually  advanced  to  them. 

The  venerable  archbishop  asked  to  be  permitted  to  resign 
the  see  which  he  had  so  long  occupied,  but  when  this  was 
refused  he  obtained  the  appointment  of  a  coadjutor.  The  choice 
fell  upon  the  Bight  Kev.  William  H.  Elder,  then  Bishop  of 
Natchez,  who  in  May,  1880,  assumed  the  administration  of  the 
diocese. 

Archbishop  Purcell  then  retired  to  a  house  near  the  TJrsuline 
Convent  in  Brown  County.  Here  eariy  in  1881  he  was  struck 
with  paralysis  and  lingered  till  July  4,  lb83,  when  he  expired 
calmly  and  full  of  hope.  '  His  career  had  been  humble,  zealous, 
and  active.  In  the  great  trial  of  his  life  all  acknowledged  that 
no  money  had  been  spent  for  his  own  purposes  or  extravagantly. 
He  had  been  a  prelate  of  great  influence,  forming  many  of  the 
best  bishops  and  clergy  in  the  country,  consecrating  in  his  long 
administration  eighteen  bishops  and  ordaining  hundreds  of 
priests..  ;.;-'.      ,■.//■':""*■;''  " ^;"'v.. -\v-.^--'r-  ;,7>^'  '■<-  ■- ,;'r^  -rts-. 


I 


s  r 


. ,  ,v'f-  -'-^ 


Most  Rev.  William  H.  Elder,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  Cincinnati.  Ohio. 


( i 


i  I 


DI00E8B  OF  OINOINNATI. 


109 


■ 


i 


MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  HENJIY  ELDER, 

I%ird  Bishop  of  NatoheK^  Second  ArchhUihop  of  OinoinnaH, 

William  Henby  Elder  was  born  in  Baltimore  in  the  year 
1819,  and,  corresponding  to  the  pious  wish  of  his  parents,  early  in 
life  looked  forward  to  the  priesthood  as  the  work  of  his  life. 
He  began  his  studies  in  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  but  pursued 
a  theological  course  for  three  years  in  the  College  of  the  Propa- 
ganda  at  Rome.    He  was  ordained  in  1846,  and,  returning  to  the 
United  States,  was  for  several  years  director    and  professor  of 
theology  at  Mount  St.  Maiy's.    In  this  quiet  field  of  labor  he 
had  impressed  many  bishops  with  his  singular  abilities.     On  the 
9th  of  January,  1857,  he  was  selected  for  the  see  of  Natchez, 
and  received  episcopal  consecration  on  the  Sd  day  of  May  in 
the  cathedral  of  Baltimoi  e,  the  consecrator  being  the  Most  Rev. 
Francis  P.  Kenrick,  assisted  by  th^  Right  Rev.  John  McGill,  of 
Richmond,  and  Rt.  Rev.  James  F.  Wood,  coadjutor  of  Phila* 
delphia.     He  was  the  twelfth  bishop  that  Mount  St.  Mary's  had 
given  to  the  Church  in  the  United  States.    Bishop  Elder  was 
actively  laboring  for  his  flock  in  Mississippi  when  the  civil  war 
began.     In  time  the  State  became  the  scene  of  battle,  and  the 
bishpp,  with  his  few  priests  and  the  communities  of  sisters,  did  all 
in  their  power  to  alleviate  suffering  and  to  prepare  men  for  a 
Christian  death.     One  of  his  priests  died  amid  his  charitable 
labors.     In  1864  the  post  commandant  at  Natchez,  one  of  those 
fanatics  who  confound  their  Protestantism  and  their  citizenship, 
issued  an  order  requiring  all  clergymen  to  insert  in  their  public 
worship  a  prayer  for  the    President    of    the    United    States. 
Bishop    Elder  remonstrated,**  showing  how  nobly  he   and  his 
clergy  had  acted,  but  taking  the  broad  ground  that  no  part  of  sar 
cred  worship  could  be  prescribed  by  civil  or  military  authority. 
His  remonstrance  led  to  directions  that  he  should  not  be  molest- 
ed; but  in  the  change  of  commandants  Colonel  Farrar  endeavored 
to  enforce  the  order,  but  suspended  execution  till  Bishop  Elder 
prepared  a  statement  of  his  reasons  for  not  complying.    When 
he  presented  the  statement  General  Brayman  had  taken  cov- 


110 


THE  CATHOLIO  HIERAROHT  IN  THE  UKITBD  STATBS. 


mand.    He  would  not  accept  Bishop  Elder^s  reasons,  and  sent 
him  out  of  his  diocese  to  Vidalia. 

When  peace  was  *at  last  restored  Catholicity  in  Mississippi 
was  in  a  wretched  condition;  flocks  had  been  scattered,  priests 
were  gone,  institutions  suspended,  churches  in  ruins..  Bishop 
Elder  went  zealously  to  work  to  restore  all;  but  when  pros- 
perity was  beginning  to  dawn  the  yellow  fever  of  1878  visited 
the  diocese.  Bishop  Elder  showed  his  wonted  zeal  and  was 
stricken  down;  the  report  even  spread  that  he  v  dead,  as 
three  of  his  piiests  and  many  sisters  were.  But  he  lived  to  re- 
sume his  labors,  and  the  next  year  was  appointed  coadjutor  to  the 
Archbishop  of  San  Francisco.  -  Before  the  notification  reached 
him  he  was  appointed  coadjutor  of  Cincinnati,  and  yielded, 
on  the  30th  of  January  1880,  to  the  command  that  he  should 
proceed  to  Cincinnati  to  assume,  as  Bishop  of  Avara,  a  duty  be- 
fore which  many  had  quailed — the  administration  of  the  diocese 
amid  its  financial  wreck.  The  diocese  of  Natchez  was  endeared 
to  him  by  his  missionary  labois  and  his  patient  care  ;  he  left  it 
with  a  population  of  12,500,  attended  by  twenty  priests,  who 
offered  the  .  Holy  Sacrifice  in  41  churches  scattered  through  the 
State.  The  Catholic  body  was  gaining  by  natural  increase  and 
by  conversion,  nearly  one-fourth  the  baptisms  being  of  adults, 
and  there  were  several  religious  orders  laboring  by  good  ex- 
ample and  sound  instruction  to  diffuse  the  gospel  of  truth.  Still 
retaining  the  administration  of  Natchez,  Bishop  Elder  took  up 
his  residence  in  Cincinnati.  Difficulties  beset  him,  but  his  wise, 
temperate,  and  prudent  course  soon  restored  order  and  rallied 
around  him  the  best  elements  in  the  diocese.  In  February,  1882, 
he  presided  in  the  Fourth  Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati, 
where  decrees  were  adopted  based  on  the  necessities  of  the  time. 
By  the  death  of  Archbishop  Purcell,  July  4,  he  became  Arch- 
bishop of  Cincinnati,  and  soon  received  the  pallium.  Archbishop 
Elder  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  work  of  the  Third  Plen- 
ary Council  of  Baltimore,  the  sessions  of  which  were  continued 
through  nearly  the  whole  month  of  November,  1884. 


md  sent 


[ssissippi 
J  priests 

Bishop 
en  pros- 
\  visited 
md  was 
iead,  as 
d  to  re- 
T  to  the 
reached 
yielded, 
5  should 
iuty  be- 
diocese 
udeared 

left  it 
its,  who 
igh  the 
ase  and 

adults, 
ood  ex- 
.  Still 
ook  up 
is  wise, 

rallied 
r,  1882, 
cinnati, 
le  time. 

Arch- 
Lbishop 
Plen- 
itinued 


DIOCESE  OF  MILWAUKEE. 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  MARTIN  HENNI, 

First  Bishop  and  Ardhhishop  of  Milwaukee. 

John  Martdt  Henni  was  bom  of  a  family  in  comfortable 
circumstances  at  Obersaxen,  in  the  Swiss  canton  of  the  Grisons, 
in  the  year  1805.  After  studying  at  St.  Gall  and  Luzerne  he 
proceeded  'to  Rome  to  complete  his  course ;  there  he  and  another 
young  Swiss,  Martin  Kundig,  moved  by  the  appeal  of  Bishop 
Fenwick,  of  Cincinnati,  for  priests  to  aid  him,  volunteered  to  Join 
his  diocese.  They  arrived  in  Baltimore  in  1829,  and,  completing 
their  theology  in  the  seminary  at  Bardstown,  were  ordained  by 
Bishop  Fenwick  February  2,  1829.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Henni  took 
charge  of  the  Germans  in  Cincinnati,  who  then  attended  St.  Pe- 
ter's Church,  giving  them  instructions  in  their  own  language. 
He  also  taught  philosophy  in  the  Athenaeum.  His  next  field  of 
labor  was  in  Northern  Ohio,  extending  from  Canton  to  Lake  Erie. 
Bishop  Purcell  recalled  him  to  Cincinnati  in  1834,  making  him 
vicar-general  and  pastor  of  the  German  church  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  The  next  year  he  visited  Europe  and  published  there 
an  interesting  account  of  the  state  of  religion  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Ohio,  in  order  to  stimulate  interest  in  the  missions.  Return- 
ing to  Cincinnati,  he  established  in  1837  the  Wahrheita  Fr^nd, 
the  first  German  Catholic  paper  in  the  United  States.  He  also 
organized  the  St.  Aloysius'  Orphans'  Aid  Society.  Among  his 
projects  was  a  seminary  for  the  education  of  priests  to  labor 
among  the  Germans  in  this  country.  His  plan  was  laid  before 
the  Provincial  Council  in  Baltimore,  but  that  body,  soliciting  the 
erection  of  a  see  at  Milwaukee,  recommended  him  as  admirably 
fitted  by  learning,  piety,  sacerdotal  zeal,  and  experience  for  the 
new  mitre.    On  the  feast  of  St.  Joseph,  March  19,  1844,  he  was 

lU 


112 


THE  OATBOLIO  HIBBARCHT  IN  THB  TTNITBD  STATBS.^ 


consecrated  in  Si  Xavier^s  Churcli,  Cincinnati,  by  Archbishop 
Purcell,  assisted  by  Bishops  Miles  and  O'Connor.  The  diocese 
of  Milwaukee  was  just  the  field  for  his  zeal.  The  only  church  in 
his  episcopal  city  was  a  wooden  one,  thirty  feet  by  forty  in  size. 
Indeed,  Mass  had  been  said  for  the  first  time  in  Milwaukee  only 
seven  years  before  in  the  house  of  Solomon  Juneau.  A  stone 
church  had  been  begun  at  Prairie  dii  Chien,  but  the  few  other 
churches  in  the  dioceses  were  log  structures,  and  the  Catholics, 
estimated  at  from  eight  to  ten  thousand,  had  only  five  priests  • 
to  attend  them.  Bishop  Henni  found  his  old  friei\d»  Rev.  Mr. 
Kundig,  at  Milwaukee,  and  had  brought  with  him  a  learned  - 
young  priest.  Rev.  Michael  Heiss.  He  began  a  visitation  of  his 
diocese,  borrowing  money  to  pay  his  expenses,  and  soon  found 
that  his  flock  was  nearly  double  what  had  been  supposed.  To 
supply  them  with  priests  and  churches  was  his  urgent  task.  By 
the  end  of  the  first  year  he  had  nine  priests,  eighteen  churches, 
and  six  more  going  up.  The  activity  of  the  Catholic  body  under 
the  impulse  of  their  bishop  excited  the  hostility  of  fanatics,  who 
began  their  usual  misrepresenta,tions.  A  Rev.  Mr.  Miter  was 
especially  active  in  endeavoring  to  excite  violence  against  Catho* 
lies,  but  Bishop  Henni,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Facts  against 
Assertion,  by  Philalethes,"  placed  them  so  clearly  in  the  wrong 
that  a  better'feeling  soon  prevailed. 

In  1847  he  began  the  erection  of  a  new  cathedral  and  intro* 
duced  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  took  charge  of  a  hospital. 
The  next  year  he  visited  Rome  to  report  the  condition  of  his  dio* 
cese  and  obtain  aid  of  various  kinds.  On  his  return  he  suspended 
work  on  his  cathedral  in  order  to  build  an  orphan  asylum ;  he 
introduced  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and,  by  giving 
them*  a  thorough  system  of  training,  made  'he  order  one  of  the 
most  successful  bodies  of  teachers  in  the  country.  Meanwhile 
churches  and  institutions  were  increasing,  the  Dominicans  opened 
a  college  at  Sinsinawa,  Brothers  of  St.  Francis  and  Sisters  of  the 
same  order  at  Nojoshing,  Dominican  nuns  at  Benton.  Some  zeal- 
ous priests  organized  a  Capuchin  convent,  reviving  that  order  in 
this  country.  At  the  end  of  his  first  ten  years  his  flock  was  one 
hundred  thousand  and  his  clergy  numbered  seventy-three. 

The  very  yeai'  aft«r  his  arrival  he  opened  a  littl«  theological 


PIOOBSIB  OF  MILWAUKEE. 

seminaiy  under  the  direction  of  the  R&v  .r.  Heiss,  and  main- 
tained it,  gradually  preparing  to  place  it  Ojl^.  a  solid  basis.  After 
the  consecration  of  his  cathedral  by  Archbishop  Bedini  in  1858 
he  was  able  to  lay,  in  1855,  the  comer-stone  of  the  Salesianum, 
or  Seminary  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  and  opened  it  for  the  recep- 
tion of  students  on  the  feast  of  that  saint.  This  seminary,  under 
the  able  management  of  Rer.  Messrs.  Heiss  and  Salzmann,  be- 
came one  of  the  best  in  the  country.  By  the  year  1868  the  State 
contained  three  hundred  thousand  Catholics,  and  at  the  request 
of  Bishop  Henni  it  was  divided  into  three  dioceses.  His  Holi- 
ness Pope  Pius  IX.  established  the  sees  of  Green  Bay  and  La 
Crosse,  yet  the  portion  of  the  State  left  in  the  diocese  of  Mil-^ 
waukee  contained  two  hundred  and  forty-three  churches  and  one 
hundred  and  forty-three  priests.  Bishop  Henni  had  won  the 
esteem  and  attachment  of  all  men,  and  his  silver  jubilee  in  1869 
was  a  spontaneous  ovation.  The  eloquent  sermon  preached  on 
that  occasion  by  the  Rev.  Father  Garesch^,  S.J.,  was  long  re- 
membered. 

In  18'jt5  the  Holy  See  created  him  an  archbishop,  giving  him 
as  suffragans  the  bishops  of  Green  Bay,  La  Crosse,  Marquette, 
and  St.  Paul.  The  golden  jubilee  of  his  priesthood  in  1879,  when 
the  sermon  was  preached  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  who  had  con- 
secrated him,  evoked  the  most  enthusiastic  expressions  of  respect. 
But  the  aged  archbishop  was  ready  to  lay  down  his  burdens. 
The  death  of  his  old  friend,  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Kundig,  was  a  severe 
blow  to  him,  and  a  visitation  during  the  summer,'  in  whidh  he 
gave  confirmation  in  several  places,  completely  prostrated  his 
enfeebled  frame. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1880,  the  Right  Rev.  Br.  Heiss  was 
made  coadjutor  and  relieved  Archbishop  Henni  of  much  of  the 
care  of  the  administration.  The  aged  archbishop  soon  became 
too  weak  to  perform  any  official  act,  though  he  retained  all  his 
faculties.  He  died  on  the  7th  of  September,  1881,  at  half-past 
eleven,  having  received  the  sacraments  in  full  possession  of  his 
senses. 


rical 


114 


THB  OATHOUO  HIEBABOHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATBS. 


MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  HEISS, 

Fi/rst  Bishop  of  La  Crosse  arid  Second  Archbishop  of  MHwcmkee, 

The  successor  of  Archbishop  Henniy  the  Most  Rev.  Michael 
Heiss,  was  born  in  Pfahldorf,  Bavaria,  April  12,  1818,  and,  enter- 
ing the  Latin  school  at  the  age  of  nine,  was  graduated  with  dis- 
tinction from  the  gymnasium  of  Newburg  in  1835.  He  first 
studied  law,  but,  feeling  called  to  the  service  of  God,  went 
through  a  theological  course  in  the  University  of  Munich,  where 
Goen'es,  Moehler,  and  DoUiuger  were  his  professors..  He  then 
entered  the  ecclesiastical  seminary  at  Eichstadt,  and  was  ordained 
by  Cardinal  Reisach  October  18,  1840.  He  received  a  curacy, 
but  came  to  the  United  States  in  1843,  and  was  appointed  to  the 
church  of  the  Mother  of  God  in  Covington,  Ky.  On  the  appoint- 
ment of  Dr.  Henni  to  Milwaukee  Rev.  Mr.  Heiss  accompanied 
him,  acting  as  secretary,  and  doing  mission  work  for  fifty  miles 
north  of  the  city.  He  founded  St.  Mary's  Church  in  1846 ;  but 
his  health  failed,  and  he  spent  two  years  in  Europe.  On  his  re- 
turn he  became  president  of  the  Salesianum,  and  by  learned 
theological  works  showed  his  ability  and  erudition.  On  the  di- 
vision of  the  diocese  he  was  selected  for  the  see  of  La  Crosse  and 
consecrated  September  6,  1868.  The  diocese,  which  embraces  the 
portion  of  the  State  north  and  west  of  the  Wisconsin  River,  had 
an  early  French  settlement  at  Prairie  du  Chien  about  1689.  In 
the  present  century  it  was  first  visited  by  a  priest  in  1817,  and 
the  corner-stone  of  a-  church  was  laid  in  1839.  Under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Bishop  Henni  religion  had  made  such  progress 
in  this  part  of  the  State  that  the  new  diocese  of  La  Crosse  con- 
tained foijfcy  churches,  attended  by  fifteen  priests.  Bishop  Heiss 
proceeded  to  develop  the  good  work ;  he  established  Franciscan 
Sisters  at  La  Crosse,  and  their  mother-house  soon  supplied  teach- 
ers for  twenty-five  parochial  schools  and  two  asylums.  The 
Christian  Brothers  opened  St.  John's  College  at  Prairie  du  Chien, 
and  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  had  excellent  schools  un- 
der their  care.    At  the  end  of  ten  years  the  diocese  of  La  Crosse 


DIOOBSB  OF  MILWAUKEE. 


117 


had  thirty*8ix  churches  with  resident  pastors,  fiffy  others  regu- 
larly visited,  forty  priests,  and  forty-five  thousand  Gafholics. 

When  the  failing  health  of  Archbishop  Henni  required  the 
aid  of  a  more  vigorous  prelate.  Bishop  Heiss  was  promoted  to 
tlie  see  of  Adrianople,  March  14,  1880,  and  appointed  coadjutor. 
The  whole  administration  of  Milwaukee  diocese  soon  devolved 
upon  him,  and  on  the  death  of  Archbishop  Heni^  he  became  sec- 
ond archbishop  of  that  see. 

As  theologian  Dr.  Heiss  took  an  active  part  in  the  councils 
of  St.  Louis  and  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  He 
attended  the  Vatican  Council  in  1869-70,  and  was  appointed  by 
Pope  Pius  IX.  a  member  of  one  of  the  four  great  commissions, 
each  being  composed  of  twelve  bishops  representing  all  parts  of 
the  world. 

The  pallium  was  conferred  on  Archbishop  Heiss,  in  his  ca- 
thedral, on  the  23d  of  April,  1883.  He  attended  the  Third  Plen- 
ary Council  of  Baltimore  in  November,  1884. 

He  died  at  St.  Francis'  Hospital,  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  on  the  26th 
day  of  May,  1890,  after  a  long  and  active  life  devoted  to  the 
Church.    He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  F.  X.  Katzer,  D.D. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


mm: 


MOST   REV.    LOUIS   IGNATIUS 

,    ^,_,:.  :■,..::,,;■.-,■  .,    DENAS, 


PEl^rALVER   Y   CAR- 


^irst  Bishop  of  Zomaicma  and  the  Floridas,   Archbishop  of 

Guatemala.  , 

Don  Louis  Ignatius  PeIJalveb  t  Cardenas  was  born  in 
Havana,  on  the  island  of  Cuba,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1749,  and  at 
an  early  age  was  placed  in  the  college  which  the  Fathers  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus  maintained  for  nearly  half  a  century  in  that  city. 
His  higher  studies  were  pursued  in  the  University  of  St.  Jerome, 
and,  feeling  that  God  called  him  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  he  in 
time  received  the  order  of  priesthood.  His  learning,  ability,  and 
charity  made  him  a  remarkable  man,  and  in  1773  he  was  ap- 
pointed provisor  and  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Santiago  do 
Cuba.  His  functions  as  ecclesiastical  judge  made  him  familiar 
with  the  whole  diocese,  and  especially  with  that  portion  situated 
on  the  mainland,  Louisiana  and  Florida,  to  which  the  ancient 
jurisdiction  was  extended  once  more  between  1776  and  1784. 
He  was  thus  aware  of  the  state  of  religion,  and  especially  of  the 
difficulties  which  had  embarrassed  Bishop  Cyril.  His  exemplary 
and  austere  life,  and  the  immense  liberalities  in  which  he  expend- 
ed the  wealth  he  had  inherited,  made  Dr.  Penalver  beloved  and 
respected  in  his  native  city.  He  was  the  first  director  of  the  Pa- 
triotic Society,  and  the  founder  of  the  Casa  de  Benificencia,  pur- 
chasing the  ground  and  expending  nearly  twenty-six  thousand 
dollars  on  the  buildings.  When  the  Holy  See  erected  the  diocese 
of  Louisiana  and  the  Floridas  Dr.  Pefialver  was  chosen  as  the 
first  bishop,  and  was  consecrated  in  1793.  He  reached  New  Or- 
leans the  following  year,  and  proceeded  to  organize  a  chapter  for 


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DIOOBBB  OL  ;>  <^  ORLBAlfS. 


119 


the 'diocese,  appointing  ti/ro  canons.  The  cathedral  had  just  been 
completed  by  Don  Andres  Almonaster.  He  found  religion  at 
a  very  low  ebb  and  many  of  the  clergy  unfit  for  their  positions. 
Immorality  prevailed ;  not  one-fourth  of  those  able  attended  Mass 
on  Sundays,  and  there  were  not  more  than  three  or  four  hun- 
dred Easter  communions  in  New  Orleans  out  of  a  population  of 
11,000 ;  days  of  fast  and  abstinence  were  utterly  neglected.  The 
infidel  doctrines  of  France  were  finding  in  such  a  soil  a  rapid  and 
dangerous  growth.  Even  the  officers  of  the  colony,  who  ought  to 
have  set  an  example  of  virtue  and  morality,  sanctioned  by  their 
own  lives  what  they  should  have  prevented.  The  good  bishop 
set  to  work,  however,  to  repair  the  evils  and  recall  the  people,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  a  life  of  Christian  duty.  He  found  this  no 
easy  task,  and  parishes  that  had  maintained  some  sense  of  re- 
ligion  were  gradually  yielding  to  the  torrent  of  evil  caused  by 
the  influx  of  adventurers  of  all  kinds.  The  bishop's  charity  and 
zeal  to  relieve  the  poor  and  afflicted  were  exerted  in  vain ;  they 
failed  to  win  the  attachment  of  the  flock  confided  to  His  care. 
He  became  discouraged,  but  on  the  ,20th  of  July,  1801,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  see  of  Guatemala,  and  he  left  the  colony.  On 
his  voyage  from  New  Orleans  to  Havana  his  vessel  was  pursued 
by  an  English  man-of-war,  and  he  narrowly  escaped  being  made 
a  prisoner.  In  Guatemala  he  founded  a  hospital  and  established 
several  schools ;  but,  finding  the  burden  of  the  episcopate  too 
great,  he  obtained  leave  to  resign  the  mitre,  and  did  so  March  1, 
1806.  Returning  to  his  native  city,  he  devoted  the  remainder  of 
his  life  to  charity,  and  died  July  17,  1810.  His  property  he  be- 
queathed to  pious  institutions  and  to  the  poor. 

On  the  retirement  of  Bishop  Pefialver  the  Rev.  Francis  Porro, 
of  the  convent  of  the  Holy  Apostles  in  Rome,  is  said  to  have 
been  nominated  to  the  diocese  of  Louisiana,  but,  according  to  the 
accui'ate  Benedictine  Gams,  he  was  never  consecrated,  the  pro- 
bability of  the  speedy  termination  of  Spanish  authority  in  the 
province  having  doubtless  prevented  the  bishop-elect  from  at- 
tempting to  assume  direction  of  the  diocese,  where  there  would 
be  no  provision  for  his  maintenance,  and  where  little  could  be 
expected  from  the  people. 


.20 


THB  CATHOLIC  HlliTiARCHir  IH  THB  UNITBD  STATES. 


r-M 


MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  LOUIS  DUBOURG, 

Second  Bishop  of  Louisiana^  First  Bishop  of  New   Orleam^ 
Bishop  of  Montauban,  and  Archbishop  of  Besangon, 

Like  his  predecessor,  William  Louis  Du  Bourg  was  a  native 
of  the  West  Indies,  having  been  born  at  Cap  Francois,  Saint  Do- 
mingo, February  14,  1766.  He  was  sent  to  France  for  his  edu- 
catipn.  There  he  embraced  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and  after  his 
ordination  joined  the  Society  of  St.  Sulpice.  He  was  superior  of 
the  seminary  at  Issy  when  the  French  Revolution  declared  war 
on  religion.  He  retired  at  first  to  his  family  at  Bordeaux,  but 
when  he  saw  that  there  was  no  hope  of  change  he  resolved  to 
come  to  America.  He  arrived  at  Baltimore  in  December,  1794, 
and  joined  Rev.  Mr.  Nagot  in  the  new  Sulpitian  house.  He  was 
president  of  Georgetown  College  for  three  years ;  he  then  with 
some  other  Sulpitians  visited  Havana  to  found  a  house  in  that 
city ;  and,  though  the  project  failed,  he  obtained  pupils  for  St. 
Mary's  College,  Baltimore,  of  which  he  became  president.  His 
labors  as  missionary  priest  were  never  abated,  and  in  the  French 
refugees  from  the  West  Indies  he  and  his  associates  found  a  new 
field  for  their  charity  and  zeal.  He  was  the  first  to  persuade 
Mrs.  Seton  to  found  a  religious  community  in  this  country  rather 
than  go.  to  Europe,  and  he  not  only  aided  her  in  the  great  work, 
but  was  appointed  by  Archbishop  Carroll  the  first  ecclesiastical 
superior  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  He  showed  ability  as  a  con- 
troversialist in  his  able  replies  to  attacks  on  the  Church. 

The  diocese  of  Louisiana  and  the  Floridas  had,  after  Bishop 
Peflalver's  departure,  fallen  into  complete  anarchy.  It  had  been 
in  time  placed  under  the  administration  of  Dr.  Carroll,  but  the 
vicars-general  appointed  by  the  Archbishop  of  .Baltimore  found 
their  authority  defied.  In  1812  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dubourg  was 
elected  apostolical  administrator.  It  was  during  our  war  with 
England,  and  soon  after  reaching  New  Orleans  he  found  it  men- 
aced by  a  powerful  English  army.  He  aroused  the  patriotism, 
and  piety  of  his  flock,  and  offered  prayers  for  the  success  of  the 


DIOCfSSB  OF  NEW  ORLBAKS. 


191 


American  arms.  On  General  Jackson's  signal  victory  Rev.  Mr. 
Dubourg  went  out  and  congratulated  him  in  an  eloquent  address. 
Having  ascertained  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  vagt  diocese, 
which  then  comprised  all  the  territory  of  the  United  States  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  with  Florida  and  the  strip  on  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico, he  proceeded  to  Rome,  where  he  was  consecrated  September 
24,  1815.  Returning  to  France,  his  appeals  for  aid  led  to  the 
foundation  of  the  great  Association  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith.  He  returned  in  1817  with  several  Lazarists  and  other 
priests,  and,  proceeding  towards  St.  Louis,  took  possession  of  his 
diocese  near  St.  Genevieve  on  the  28th  of  December.  He  made 
St.  Louis  his  episcopal  residence,  deterred  by  the  experience  of 
his  predecessor  and  the  administrators,  during  the  vacancy  of  the 
see,  from  attempting  to  settle  in  New  Orleans.  He  founded  a 
theological  seminary  and  college  at  the  Barrens,  which  he  con- 
fided to  the  Lazarists ;  the  Sisters  of  Loretto  came  from  Kentucky 
to  open  schools,  and  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  founded  their 
first  American  convent  at  St.  Louis,  soon  followed  by  a  second  at 
Florissant.  Religion  in  what  was  known  as  Upper  Louisiana 
received  a  great  impulse  from  these  institutions,  and  the  bishop, 
aided  by  the  Association  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  was 
rapidly  increasing  churches,  priests,  and  schools.  New  Orleans 
and  the  lower  part  of  the  diocese  he  visited  annually,  gradually 
overcoming  all  opposition  to  his  jurisdiction  and  authority.  In 
1823  he  obtained  as  coadjutor  the  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rosati,  and 
a  plan  was  formed  for  dividing  the  diocese.  He  then  took  up 
his  residence  in  New  Orleans,  the  old  Ursuline  convent  becom- 
ing at  once  the  episcopal  residence  and  a  college.  After  labor- 
ing zealously  and  judiciously  he  proceeded  to  Europe  in  1826 
for  affaire  of  the  diocese,  but  there  resolved  to  resign  the  see,  con 
vinced  that  another  bishop  would  effect  more  good.  By  the  di- 
vision of  the  diocese  Bishop  Rosati  became  Bishop  of  St.  Louis, 
and  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Portier  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Alabama  and 
the  Floridas.  Dr.  Dubourg  was  too  well  known  and  esteemed 
to  be  left  in  retirement ;  he  was  transferred  to  the  see  of  Montau- 
ban,  and  in  1833"  was  promoted  to  the  archiepiscopal  throne  of 
Besan^on.  In  both  dioceses  he  elicited  the  warmest  and  moM 
devoted  affection.   He  died  calmly  and  piously  December  12, 1833, 


199  THB  OATHOUO  HIBRABOHT  IN  THK  UNITED  STATIB. 


BIGHT  REV.  LEO  RAYMOND  DE  NECKERB, 
Second  Bishop  of  New  Orlecma. 

Lvo  DB  Neoksbb  was  born  in  Wevelghem,  Belgium,  June  6, 
1800,  of  a  pious  family.  He  pursued  his  classical  course  at  the 
College  of  Roulers,  and  was  in  the  Lazarist  Seminary  when  he 
was  selected  as  one  of  those  who  were  to  go  with  Bishop  Du- 
bourg  to  America.  He  spent  some  time  at  the  seminary  at  Bards* 
town  and  in  that  at  the  Barrens,  and  was  ordained  October  18, 
1822.  He  was  soon  made  a  professor,  and  in  time  superior, 
at  the  Barrens,  combining  mission  labors  with  his  other  duties. 
The  excessive  labor  began  to  tell  on  a  frame  never  vigorous,  and 
he  was  placed  for  a  time  at  New  Orleans.  In  1827  he  visited 
Europe,  hoping  to  gain  relief,  but  while  resting  at  Amiens  was 
summoned  to  Rome,  where,  notwithstanding  his  remonstrance, 
he  was  elected  Bishop  of  New  Orleans  August  4,  1829.  He  re- 
turned to  his  native  Belgium,  but  for  a  time  his  health  was  such 
that  his  recovery  seemed  miraculous.  As  soon  as  his  increasnl 
strength  permitted  a  sea-voyage  Bishop  Neckere  returned  to 
America,  and  a  day  was  fixed  for  his  consecration  at  New  Or- 
leans ;  a  new  attack  of  disease,  however,  deferred  it  till  June  24, 
1880,  when  he  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Rosati,  assisted  by 
Bishop  England  and  Bishop  Portier.  He  took  up  the  duties  of 
the  episcopate  with  all  the  zeal  his  feeble  strength  permitted, 
aided  greatly  by  the  Very  Rev.  Arthony  Blanc,  whom  he  made 
his  vicar-general,  and  who  was  appointed  coadjutor,  but  refused 
the  dignity.  In  the  summer  of  1833  Bishop  Neckere  was  at  St. 
Michel  when  the  yellow  fever  appeared  at  New  Orleans.  He 
at  once  set  out  for  that  city,  although  all  his  friends  endeavored 
to  dissuade  him.  It  was,  he  felt,  his  post  of  duty,  and  he  labored 
assiduously  among  his  afflicted  people  for  their  spiritual  and  cor- 
poral relief  until  he  was  himself  seized  v'SiCi  the  disease.  "  He 
died,'*  says  Archbishop  Spalding,  ''the  deiAh  of  a.  saint,"  Septem- 
ber 4,  1833. 


DIOOKBB  OF  NIW  ORLSAKS. 


1S8 


MOST  REV  ANTHONY  BLANC, 

3%ird  B'ibhop  and  Mrat  ArchUthop  of  Ntr^r  Orlea/nff. 

This  prelai)  was  born  at  Sury,  in  France,  October  11,  1792, 
and  was  ordained  at  the  age  of  twenty -four,  coming  the  next 
year  to  the  United  States  as  one  of  the  young  priests  who  volun> 
teered  to  accompany  Bishop  Lubourg.  Having  been  stationed 
at  Vincennes,  he  extend e<i  '  :h  labors  to  a  considerable  distance, 
building  log  chapels  whero  Catholics  were  numerous.  He  then 
joined  Bishop  Pabouig  ..ad  was  employed  in  New  Orleans, 
Natchez,  Pointfj  C'ap^e,  and  Baton  Rouge.  In  1881  he  was 
made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  and  the  next  year  sent  back 
to  Rome  the  bulls  which  arrived  appointing  him  coadjutor  to 
Bishop  de  Neckere.  On  the  death  of  that  prelate  he  became 
administrator,  and,  yielding  at  last  to  the  decree  appointing  him 
to  the  vacant  see,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  New  Orleans  No- 
vember 22,  1885,  by  Dr.  Rosati,  assisted  by  Bishop  Purcell  and 
Bishop  Portier.  The  labors  of  Bishop  Dubourg.  and  his  succes- 
sor, and  the  zealous  priests  whom  they  called  around  them,  had 
greatly  changed  the  diocese.  Communions,  instead  of  being 
numbered  by  tens,  could  be  counted  by  thousands.  In  1888 
Bishop  Blanc  established  a  diocesan  seminary,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Lazarist  Fathers,  in  the  parish  of  the  Assumption.  It 
was  subsequently  at  JeflEersonville  and  then  removed  to  New  Or- 
leans. The  Society  of  Jesus  also  came  to  his  aid,  founding  col- 
leges at  Grand  Coteau  and  New  Orleans.  At  a  later  period  the 
Redemptorists  began  their  work  among  the  Germans.  On  the 
dea»M.  0^  *<he  rec'  i  of  the  cathedral  of  New  Orleans  the  trustees 
lelusea  to  recognize  the  priest  whom  Bishop  Blanc  appointed, 
and  it  was  not  till  after  long  litigation  that  his  rights  were  re- 
cognized. In  the  rest  of  his  diocN»e  he  saw  a  better  spirit,  and 
churches  and  institutions  increased. 

The  State  of  Mississippi  had.  #om  the  time  of  Bishop  Du- 
bourg, been  merged  in  the  dioces.,  of  N^ew  Orleans;  but  in  1887  a 
see  was  established  at  Natchez,  and  the  Stai«  form«d  its  diocese. 


M 


134 


THE  OATHOLIO  HnBRABOHT  IN  THE  UNITBD  STATES. 


Bisbop  Blano  bad  attended  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  Balti- 
more as  theologian ;  he  sat  in  all  from  the  first  to  the  seventh  as 
bishop.  At  the  request  of  the  last  of  these  New  Orleans  was, 
on  the  19th  of  July,  1850,  made  an  archiepiscopal  see.  Mobile, 
Natchez,  Little  Kock,  and  Galveston  being  the  suffragans. 

In  1855  Archbishop  Blanc  was  one  of  the  hierarchy  who 
attended  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion in  Bome.  The  following  year  he  held  the  first  Provincial 
Council  of  New  Orleans,  which  was  attended  by  the  four  suffragan 
bishops  and  their  theologians,  with  the  superiors  of  several  bodies 
of  regulars.  In  1858,  while  hastening  to  the  relief  of  sufferers 
by  yellow  fever,  he  stepped  into  a  hole  in  the  wharf  and  broke 
both  bones  of  his  leg.  This  did  not  prevent  his  activity  in  the 
subsequent  discharge  of  his  duties,  but  it  caused  a  shock  from 
which  he  never  fully  recovered.  In  June,  1860,  he  mada  visita- 
tions, giving  confii'mation  at  a  distance  from  New  Orleans.  He 
returned  from  Thibodeauxville  on  Monday,  and  on  Wednesday 
offered  the  Holy  Sacrifice  and  began  his  usual  duties  of  the  day, 
seeing  several  persons.  While  alone  for  a  moment  he  was  seized 
with  fatal  illness  and  had  just  time  to  ring  his  bell  before  throw* 
ing  himself  on  .his  bed.  The  servant  who  came  called  Vicar- 
General  Rousselon.  He  arrived  just  in  time  to  administer  Ex- 
treme Unction  and  the  last  absolution.  Archbishop  Blanc  died 
June  20,  1860.  During  his  active  career  the  churches  in  Louisi- 
ana increased  from  twenty-six  to  seventy-three,  and  his  clergy 
from  twenty-seven  to  ninety-two.  He  left  his  diocese  with  a 
seminary,  two  colleges,  eight  academies,  thirteen  orphan  asylums. 
Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Notre 
Dame,  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  of  the  Holy  Cross,  as  well  as 
Carmelite  nuns,  all  introduced  by  his  ze«d.    f  V 


First 


y 


(:■ 


f- 


feiOOBSB  OF  MEW  OBLBANflL 


136 


/ 


I 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  MARY  ODIN, 

First  BUhop   of  OaheaUm  and  8ec<ynd  Archbishop  of  New 

Orleans. 

John  Mabt  Omur  was  born  at  Ambierle,  France,  February  25, 
1801,  and  in  early  life  was  received  into  the  Congregation  of 
the  Mission.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  was  sent  to  the  Barrens, 
Missouri,  where  he  continued  his  studies,  while  acting  as  teacher 
of  logic  and  theology.  Having  received  sacerdotal  orders  about 
a  year  after  his  arrival,  he  made  a  visit  to  Texas  with  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Timon,  performing  missionary  duties  throughout  the  journey. 
After  Dr.  Rosati's  elevation  to  the  episcopate  he  became  pre- 
sident of  the  college  at  the  Barrens.  He  attended  the  Second 
Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian,  and  subsequently 
made  a  voyage  to  Europe  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  but  he  de- 
voted the  time  to  obtaining  aid  for  the  Lazaiist  establishments  in 
the  United  States,  which  were  at  this  time  constituted  into  a  pro- 
vince. In  1836  he  became  for  a  time  pastor  at  Cape  Girardeau, 
but  he  was  soon  recalled  to  the.  seminary. 

In  1840  the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Timon,  who  had  been  appointed 
Prefect- Apostolic  of  Texas,  selected  Father  Odin  as  vice-prefect, 
and  despatched  him  to  that  field.  Rev.  Mr.  Odin  acted  with 
energy ;  he  freed  the  Prefecture  from  scandals,  and  on  the  arri- 
val of  the  prefect  co-operated  with  him  in  his  missionary  labors. 
Among  other  important  services  which  the  two  Lazarists  render- 
ed to  religion  at  this  time  was  their  forecast  in  securing  from 
the  legislature  of  the  Republic  a  confirmation  of  the  right  of 
the  Catholic  Church  to  the  old  ecclesiastical  property  in  Texas. 
Summoned  to  Missouri,  Father  Odin  reached  New  Orleans  fairly 
in  rags,  and  there  received  bulls  appointing  him  coadjutor  of 
Detroit ;  but  by  the  advice  of  his  superior  he  declined  the  nomi- 
nation. Pope  Gregory  XVI.  erected  Texas  into  a  vicariate-apos- 
tolic  in  1841,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Odin  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Claudiopolis  and  invested  with  its  direction.  Submitting  to  a 
dignity  which  required  hard  missionary  labor,  he  was  consecrated 


196 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBRARGHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


K? 

K-"^ 


at  New  Orleans,  March  6,  1842,  and  entered  on  the  discharge  of 
his  new  duties.  Ho  soon  erected  churches  at  Galveston,  Houston, 
St.  Augustine,  Nacogdoches,  Lavaca,  and  Fort  Bent,  and  restored 
those  which  dated  from  Spanish  times  and  were  not  utterly- 
ruined.  He  visited  Europe  in  1846  to  obtain  priests  and  means, 
and  returned  with  several  missionaries.  Two  years  after  the 
Ursuline  nuns  at  his  request  began  a  convent  of  their  order  in 
Galveston,  which  was  that  year  made  a  bishop^s  see.  Bishop 
Odin  soon  introduced  the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word  and  the 
Brothers  of  Mary  to  conduct  schools,  and  received  in  the  Oblate 
Fathers  a  community  of  zealous  missionaries.  His  visitations  of 
his  diocese,  accomplished  at  great  personal  fatigue  and  danger— 
for  he  was  nearly  drowned  in  1857 — were  apostolic  missions,  as 
he  performed  all  the  duties  of  a  piiest  in  many  parts  where  none 
had  been  seen. 

On  the  death  of  Archbishop  Blanc  the  general  voice  of  the 
bishops  of  the  province  nominated  Dr.  Odin  for  the  vacancy,  and 
he  was  promoted  to  the  see  of  New  Orleans  on  the  15th  of  Feb. 
ruaryi  1861.  The  Church  in  Texas  was  in  a  manner  his  own 
work,  and  he  left  it  with  regrei  He  had  found  it  without  a 
priest,  or  aught  but  ruined  churches  ;  he  left  it  with  fifty  churches 
attended  by  forty  priests,  with  a  thriving  college  and  four  acade- 
mies. He  assumed  his  new  duties  with  his  usual  zeal,  although 
advanced  in  life  and  broken  by  mission  work.  The  civil  war 
called  forth  his  zeal  and  prudence,  and  the  services  of  his  clergy 
in  the  field  and  the  hospital  were  most  consoling.  Though  a 
constant  sufferer  from  neuralgia  from  the  period  of  his  arrival  in 
New  Orleans,  Archbishop  Odin  gave  himself  no  relaxation ;  in 
his  nine  years'  occupancy  of  that  see  he  nearly  doubled  the  num- 
ber of  priests  and  churches,  and  notably  increased  the  religious 
institutions.  In  1869  he  set  out  to  attend  the  General  Council  of 
the  Vatican,  and  at  Rome  obtained  the  appointment  of  the  Kev. 
Napoleon  J.  Perch^  as  coadjutor.  He  was  soon  after  compelled 
to  leave  Rome  by  the  state  of  his  health,  and  reached  his  native 
place  only  to  die  there,  after  having  endured  most  intense  pain 
with  all  the  serenity  and  piety  of  a  martyr,  on  the  feast  of  the 
Ascension,  May  25,  1870. 


DIOOESB  OF  NEW  OBLEANa 


127 


charge  of 
Houston, 
I  restored 
►t  utterly 
id  means, 
after  the 

order  in 
Bishop 

and  the 
e  Oblate 
lations  of 
danger—^ 
issions,  as 
lere  none 

e  of  the 
mcy,  and 
b  of  Feb. 
his  own 
'^ithout  a 
churches 
ir  acado' 
although 
civil  war 
is  clei*gy 
'hough  a 
rrival  in 
ition;  in 
;he  nuni- 
religious 
ouncil  of 
the  Kev. 
>mpelled 
is  native 
ase  pain 
at  of  the 


MOST  REV.  NAPOLEON  J.  PERCH^, 

I%ird  Archhiahop  of  New  Orleans. 

Napoleon  Joseph  Peboh^  was  bom  at  Anders,  in  France, 
January  10,  1805,  and  was  so  precocious  that  he  could  read  and 
write  at  the  age  of  five,  and  began  his  philosophy  at  thirteen, 
actually  teaching  it  as  professor  five  years  later.  Completing  his 
studies  at  the  Seminary  of  Beaupreau,  he  was  ordained  Septem- 
ber 19,  1829.  His  first  charge  was  Murr,  near  Angei*s,  a  difficult 
parish,  where  he  conquered  the  good-will  of  all.  As  parish  priest 
of  Turquand  he  effected  great  good  among  the  convicts,  and  did 
much  to  reorganize  the  Dames  du  Bon  Pasteur.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  with  Bishop  Flaget  in  1837,  and  took  charge  of 
Portland  and  its  missions,  laboring  with  his  Wonted  zeal.  Hav- 
ing visited  New  Orleans  to  appeal  for  aid  in  building  a  church, 
he  received  every  encouragement  from  Archbishop  Blanc,  but 
was  urged  by  that  prelate  to  come  to  Louisiana  permanently, 
as  a  field  where  he  could  accomplish  more  than  he  was  likely 
to  effect  in  Kentucky.  To  the  change  Bishop  Flaget  reluctantly 
consented.  In  Louisiana  the  eloquence  of  the  young  priest  soon 
acquired  for  him  both  fame  and  influence.  In  the  schism  of  the 
trustees  he  supported  the  bishop  with  pen  and  voice ;  but,  feeling 
the  want  of  a  truly  Catholic  organ  in  the  diocese,  he  founded  Le 
Propagatew  Catholique,  which  still  exists,  and  of  which  he  was 
for  many  years  editor.  He  also'  founded  a  Catholic  society  to 
give  those  who  loved  religion  a  mutual  support.  For  twenty- 
eight  years  he  remained  chaplain  of  the  Ursuline  convent,  seek- 
ing no  advancement,  ever  ready  to  preach  when  summoned. 
When  Archbishop  Odin,  in  Europe,  felt  that  he  might  never 
return  to  his  diocese,  or  could  do  so  only  an  invalid,  he  requested 
the  appointment  of  Rev.  Mr.  Perch^  as  his  coadjutor.  Having 
accepted  his  bulls,  the  Abb6  Perch6  sailed  to  Europe,  and  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Abdera  May  1,  1870,  succeeding  to  New 
Orleans  before  the  close  of  the  month. 

He  returned  to  America  as  archbishop  and  assumed  the  direc* 


128 


THE  OATHOLIO  HIBR^ROHT  IN  THB  UNITBD  STATB& 


tion  of  a  diocese  the  difficulties  of  which  he  knew  full  well« 
The  cathedral  had  hitherto  been  in  the  hands  of  a  body  of  trus* 
tees,  who  had  on  several  occasions  shown,  probably  from  ignor- 
ance of  real  Catholic  principles,  an  open  hostility  to  the  discipline 
and  life  of  the  Church.  Repeated  litigation  resulted  from  their 
resistance  to  episcopal  authority  and  their  attempts  to  nianage 
the  church  and  cemetery  according  to  their  own  fancy.  Arch- 
bishop Perch6,  who  had  already  taken  part  in  the  controversy, 
not  only  with  ability  but  with  the  gentleness  of  a  St.  Francis  de 
Sales,  had  gained  much,  and  had  at  the  same  time  retained  the 
good-will  of  the  party  in  opposition.  By  his  influence  the  war- 
dens of  the  cathedral  at  last  transferred  that  edifice  and  other 
ecclesiastical  property  standing  in  their  name  to  him  and  his 
coadjutor.  He  endowed  his  diocese  with  a  contemplative  com- 
munity— Carmelite  nuns  of  the  reform  of  St.  Teresa,  a  filiation  of 
the  convent  in  St.  Louis ;  and  one  of  his  latest  acts  was  an  ap- 
peal in  their  behalf  on  the  occasion  of  the  centenary  of  the  great 
Spanish  Carmelite  nun. 

Under  his  zealous  direction  Thibodeaux  College  and  St. 
Mary's  Commercial  College  were  opened ;  the  Ladies  of  the  Sa- 
cred Heart  established  a  third  academy ;  three  other  academies 
and  thirteen  parish  schools  were  opened  in  his  time ;  the  Lit- 
tle Sisters  of  the  Poor  founded  an  Asylum  for  aged  colored 
women.  Ten  new  churches  and  as  many  chapels  marked  the 
growth  of  the  diocese,  and  the  number  of  priests  increased  one- 
fifth.  His  energy,  sound  judgment,  and  an  eloquence  which 
caused  Pope  Leo  XIH.  to  compare  him  to  Bossuet,  as  well  as  his 
unbounded  charity,  endeared  Archbishop  Perch6  to  the  people  of 
Louisiana.  Towards  the  course  of  the  year  1883  his  vital  powers 
began  to  fail,  and,  though  a  removal  to  the  country  seemed  to  in- 
vigorate his  frame,  he  grew  weaker  on  his  return  to  the  city.  In 
December  he  saw  that  the  end  was  at  hand;  fortified  by  the 
sacraments^  he  died  of  old  age  on  Thursday^*  December  27,  1883. 


small 


was 


\  t 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


139 


MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  XAVIER  LERAY, 

»  * 

/Skaond  Bishop  of  Natchitoches    cmd    Fov/rth   Archbishop   cf 

New   Orlecms. 

Francis  Xayier  Lerat  is  a  native  of  Brittany,  bom  in  a 
small  town  near  Rennes  on  the  20tli  of  April,  1825,  of  a  re- 
spectable family,  being  one  of  thirteen  children.  He  was  sent  to 
school  at  Rennes  at  an  early  age,  and  pursued  a  classical  course, 
partly  under  the  Eudist  Fathers,  and  partly  at  the  university 
but  still  under  their  guidance.  When  the  Eudist  Fathers  began 
a  mission  of  their  order  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Leray  came  to 
Vincennes  with  them  in  1843,  and  during  his  two  years'  stay  in 
Indiana  knew  some  of  the  pioneer  priests  of  the  West,  like  the 
venerable  Badin.  In  1845  he  was  sent  for  a  short  time  to  Spring 
Hill  College,  near  Mobile,  and  subsequently  made  a  Journey  on 
horseback  from  Vincennes  to  St.  Louis.  Recalled  thence,  he 
was  sent  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore,  where,  after  hvs 
many  wanderings  and  changes,  he  was  allowed  to  complete  his 
theology,  and  was  ordained  priest  at  Natchez,  Mississippi,  by  the 
Right  Rev.  J.  J.  Chanche,  on  March  19,  1852,  fully  prepared  by 
his  intercourae  with  the  hard-working  missionaries  for  the  labors 
before  him.  After  the  death  of  Bishop  Chanche  he  was  sent  to 
Jackson,  the  capital  of  the  State.  Here  he  labored  with  Rev.  J. 
B.  Babonneau,  a  priest  of  great  talent  and  zeal,  till  his  brother- 
priest  was  struck  down  by  yellow  fever  in  the  autumn  of  1853. 
The  young  Breton  priest  deemed  that  his  associate  was  ripe  for 
heaven,  but  that  he  was  not.  Left  in  charge  of  a  district  more 
extended  than  the  diocese  to  which  he  was  ultimately  appointed, 
he  labored  to  the  best  of  his  power  and  ability,  travelling  on 
horseback  wherever  the  wants  of  scattered  Catholics  required  it, 
When  the  yellow  fever  returned  in  1854  he  attended  Jackson, 
Vicksburg,  and  Brandon.  The  next  year  the  State  was  agitated 
by  the  Know-Nothing  movement,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leray,  on 
whom  devolved  the  task  of  defending  the  faith  in  public,  was 
compelled  to  take  a  prominent  part.    Actions  speak  more  power- 


180 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERAROHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


fully  than  words.  Duiing  the  fall  of  that  very  year  the  yel- 
low ferer  came  to  wash  away  the  stains  of  Know-Nothingism  and 
to  put  to  thf)  test  the  necessity  and  truthfulness  of  the  Catholic 
priest.  The  rp>9ult  was  that  many  were  converted  to  the  faith, 
and  others,  filled  with  respect  for  a  Church  which  could  produce 
such  results,  apologized  amply  for  their  ignorant  assaults.  The 
illustrious  archbishop  says,  indeed,  that  "the  times  of  epidemics 
have  been  for  me  the  times  of  the  most  abundant  harvests."  In 
1857  Bishop  Elder  sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leray  to  Vicksburg,  where 
he  found  a  large  Catholic  population  sadly  in  need  pf  a  priest  to 
organize  and  instruct  them.  Obedience  alone  induced  him  to 
undertake  the  difficult  duty.  To  meet  the  wants  of  his  parish 
he  obtained  from  Baltimore,  in  1860,  a  few  Sisters  of  Mercy  to 
begin  an  establishment  of  their  order,  and  everything  betokened 
a  prosperous  result,  when  the  war  broke  on  them.  The  Sisters, 
with  their  superior,  went  to  share  with  the  clergy  the  misfor- 
tunes  of  the  war.  Meanwhile  Vicksburg  endured  all  the  horrors 
of  a  long  siege,  and  when  in  1865  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leray  returned 
to  his  sorely-tried  parish  he  had  to  seek  his  scattered  flock  and 
restore  the  house  of  God.  The  next  two  years  the  city  was 
visited  by  the  cholera,  and  no  epidemic  in  the  long  missionaiy 
career  left  a  deeper  impression  on  his  mind  than  the  scenes  of  this 
time,  which  exceeded  anything  that  he  had  witnessed.  "  I  have 
read,"  he  says,  "  of  many  pestilences  and  plagues  in  Europe  in 
past  ages,  but  I  think,  without  exaggeration,  I  have  seen  worse 
in  Jackson,  Vicksburg,  Yazoo  City,  Canton,  and  Greenville." 

While  laboring  in  this  toilsome  and  dangerous  mission  he 
was  summoned  by  the  voice  of  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  to 
assume  what  he  regarded  as  a  much  more  onerous  burden — ^that 
of  the  episcopate.  Having  been  selected  to  succeed  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  Martin,  he  desired  to  receive  the  episcopal  character  in 
his  own  native  province,  and  on  the  23d  of  April,  1877,  he  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Natchitoches  in  the  cathedral  of  Rennes 
by  His  Eminence  Godefroy  Cardinal  Broussais  Saint-Marc, 
Archbishop  of  Rennes,  assisted  by  the  Right  Rev.  Celestine  de 
la  Hailandi^re,  formerly  Bishop  of  Vincennes,  and  Mgr.  Nouvel, 
Bishop  of  Quimper. 

The  diocese  to  which  Bishop  Leray  was  called  comprised  the 


23, 


DIOOBSE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


Idl 


northern  part  of  the  St^te  of  Louisiana,  with  thirty  thousand 
Catholics  scattered  over  it,  but  with  only  seventeen  priests  to 
attend  the  sixty-eight  churches  and  chapels.  Two  religious  com- 
munities, the  Daughtera  of  the  Cross  and  the  Sisters  of  the 
Order  of  Mercy,  conducted  a  number  of  schools.  The  new 
bishop  began  to  build  on  this  foundation,  in  order  to  afford  his 
flock  all  possible  religious  aid,  but  in  little  more  than  two  years 
he  was  summoned  to  a  new  toil.  The  temporal  affairs  of  the 
diocese  of  New  Orleans  were  in  a  difficult  position.  The  losses 
during  the  war,  and  perhaps  even  greater  losses  during  the  pe- 
riod of  reconstruction,  had  entailed  debts  which  were  increas* 
ing  and  required  a  skilful  and  energetic  hand  to  control.  Bishop 
Leray  was""accordingly  transferred  to  the  see  of  Janopolis  October 
23,  1879,  and  made  coadjutor  of  New.  Orleans.  He  was  to  retain 
the  care  of  the  diocese  of  Natchitoches  as  administrator-aposto- 
lic. In  the  extraordinary  burdens  thus  imposed  he  evinced  all 
his  energy,  and  on  the  death  of  the  Most  Kev.  Archbishop  Perch6 
in  December,  1883,  became  apostolic  administrator  of  the  dio- 
cese of  New  Orleans,  and  was  thus  charged  with  the  care  of  the 
whole  State  of  Louisiana.  He. was  soon  after  appointed  Arch- 
bishop of  New  Orleans,  and  was  one  of  the  most  honored  of  the 
fathers  who  assembled  at  Baltimore  in  the  Third  Plenary  Coun- 
cil in  the  month  of  November,  1884. 

Archbishop  Leray's  health  gave  way  in  1887,  and  he  went  to 
Europe,  where  he  rallied  sufficiently  to  visit  Rome;  he  anived 
there  on  th<>  28th  of  June,  and  on  the  8th  of  the  ensuing  month 
had  an  audience  with  the  Holy  Father.  Having  completed  the 
business  of  his  diocese,  he  returned  to  ChAteau-Giron,  his  native 
place.  After  attending  a  meeting  of  the  alumni  of  St.  Martin's 
V  Institute  at  Rennes  on  the  14th  of  September,  which  was  his  last 
appearance  in  public,  he  grew  worse  day  by  day,  celebrating  his 
last  Mass  in  the  church  of  ChAteau-Giron  on  the  18th.  On  Fri- 
day morning,  September  23,  after  a  series  of  profuse  hemorrhages, 
he  became  unconscious.  The  blessing  in  articulo  mortis  was  tel- 
egraphed to  him  by  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XHL,  and,  after  re. 
ceiving  extreme  unction,  he  expired  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  surrounded  b^  his  kindred  and  the  friends  of  his  youth. 


-.■'   «' 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


/    I 


K'.;-  -I. 


.:%=• 


I&-- 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  LUKE  CONCANEN,  O.S.D., 

First  Bishop  of  New  York. 

RioHABD  Luke  Conoanen  Was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  at  an 
early  age  entered  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic  in  the  Irish  convent 
of  the  Holy  Gross  in  Lorraine,  and  was  soon  after  sent  to  Santa 
Maria  sopra  Minerva  at  Rome.  He  became  distinguished  for  his 
learning  and  virtue,  and  after  his  ordination  was  prior  of  the 
Irish  Dominicans  in  Lisbon  and  at  Rome,  and  in  the  latter  city 
was  professor  at  St.  Clement's  and  director  of  the  famous  Casa- 
nate  Library.  His  merit  led  to  his  appointment  to  an  episcopal 
see  in  Ireland,  but  the  humble  religious  steadily  refused  to  ac* 
cept  the  honor. 

As  agent  for  the  Irish  bishops  in  Rome  during  those  troubled 
times  he  had  rendered  essential  service  to  the  Church,  and  his 
merit  was  so  well  known  that  when,  at  the  request  of  Bishop 
Carroll,  the  diocese  of  Baltimore  was  divided  and  new  sees 
erected,  Father  Concanen  was  selected  for  the  newly-created  see 
of  New  York.  He  was  consecrated  in  Rome,  April  24,  1808,  by 
Cardinal  Antonelli,  Prefect  of  the  Congregation  de  Propagwnda 
Fide.  The  Catholics  of  New  York  looked  forward  to  his  speedy 
arrival,  and  he  obtained  from  friends  donations  of  every  kind  for 
his  diocese,  and  prepared  to  reach  it  at  once. 

The  French,  however,  were  then  in  full  sway  in  Italy,  and  all 
British  subjects  were  liable  to  arrest.  Bishop  Concanei  spent 
time  and  iponey  at  Leghorn  in  ineffectual  efforts  to  obtain  pas- 
sage to  America.  The  anxiety  and  difficulty  brought  on  a  dan- 
gerous fit  of  illness,  and  on  his  recovery  he  returned  to  Rome 
apd  wisiiecl  to  resign  a  dignity  which  it  seemed  the  will  of  Pro- 


EJiH, 


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St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  Nkw  York. 


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DlOOm  OF  TXWW  TOSS. 


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yideiioe  he  should  never  assume.  His  courage  was,  however,  re* 
Vived,  and  from  information  given  him  there  was  a  hope  that  he 
might  secure  a  passage  to  America  by  visiting  Naples.  Once 
more  he  made  the  attempt  to  reach  his  diocese ;  but  the  offi- 
cials  of  King  Murat  at  Naples  were  even  more  exacting  than, 
those  at  Leghorn,  and  the  fiishop  of  New  York  was  held  virtu* 
ally  as  a  prisoner.  Again  was  time  lost  in  appealing  to  higher 
authorities.  His  constitution,  enfeebled  by  age  and  recent  illness, 
gave  way,  and  Bishop  Concanen  closed  his  edifying  life  in  the 
great  convent  of  St  Dominic  in  Naples,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
1810,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age.  When  the  sad  tidings  ar- 
rived of  his  death  a  solemn  requiem  was  offered  for  New  York's 
first  bishop  at  St.  Peter's  Church  on  the  7th  of  October,  1810. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  CONNOLLY,  O.S.D., 

Second  Bishcp  of  JVew  York, 

JoHK  Connolly  was  a  native  of  Drogheda,  Ireland,  bom  in 
1750,  and;  like  his  predecessor,  entered  the  Order  of  Friars 
Preachers  at  an  e&rly  age.  After  holding  other  positions  he 
became  prior  of  St.  Clement's  at  Rome  and  agent  of  the  Irish 
bishops.  In  this  latter  capacity  he  showed  great  ability  and 
courage  in  saving  the  property  of  the  English  and  Irish  insti* 
tutions  from  the  hands  of  the  French.'  After  the  decease  of 
Bishop  Concanen  the  tiials  which  befell  the  Holy  See  pre* 
vented  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  from  appointing  a  bishop  for  the 
vacant  see,  and  it  was  not  till  1814  that  Father  Connolly  re- 
ceived bulls  making  him  Bishop  of  New  York.  He  was  conse- 
crated in  Rome,  November  6,  1814,  but  did  not  arrive  at  his 
episcopal  city  till  the  same  month  of  the  following  year.  He 
brought  with  him  some  priests,  and  found  in  his  diocese  only 
four  clergymen  to  receive  him.  The  institutions  which  had 
been  begun  had  all  been  abandoned.  His  flock,  scattered  over 
the  State,  nun^bered  s^yenteep  thousand,  but  was  in  ^eat  spirit*  ' 


"M 


184 


TBI  GATHOLIO  HIIRASOHT  IN  TBI  UKITID  BTATM. 


uaI  want  Bishop  Connolly  bravely  began  the  difficult  task  of 
building  up  religion.  Many  difficulties  beset  him,  but  he  visited 
his  diocese  and  began  churches  at  Utica  and  Rochester.  Priests 
were  sent  to  remote  points  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey  to 
collect  the  Catholics.  In  New  York  City  he  founded  an  Orphan 
Asylum,  for  which  he  obtained  from  Mother  Seton  some  mem- 
bers of  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  He  assisted  in  the  consecration 
of  Archbishop  Marechal,  and  was  highly  esteemed  for  his  learn* 
ing  and  virtue.  His  zeal  during  the  yellow  fever  excited  un« 
usual  admiration.  In  1824  he  solicited  the  appointment  of  a  co- 
adjutor, but  during  the  winter  ensuing  the  diocese  was  deprived 
by  death  of  two  priests.  While  officiating  at  the  funeral  of  one 
of  them  Bishop  Connolly  caught  a  severe  cold,  wLich,  at  his  age, 
proved  fatal.  He  died  at  his  episcopal  residence,  February 
6, 1825,  and  was  laid  under  his  cathedral. 


f-- 


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RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  DU  BOIS, 

Third  Bishop  of  New  York.  ..  J 

John  Du  Bois  was  bom  in  Paris,  August  24,  1764,  of  a 
family  blessed  with  a  spirit  of  piety  and  a  competency  which 
they  used  in  a  Christian  spirit.  The  training  of  a  pious  mother 
led  the  youth  to  seek  to  serve  God  in  his  sanctuary.  He  studied 
at  the  college  of  Louis  le  Grand,  where  Robespierre  and  Camille 
Desmoulins  were  also  pupils.  Formed  for  the  ecclesiastical  life 
in  the  seminary  of  St.  Magloire,  he  was  ordained  priest  Septem- 
ber 22, 1787.  The  young  priest  at  once  received  the  appointment 
of  assistant  at  the  great  church  of  St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  and  was 
also  made  chaplain  to  a  large  asylum.  The  Revolution  had  al- 
ready begun  its  war  on  the  clergy,  and  the  Abb4  Du  Bois  ere 
long  resolved  to  leave  France.  He  anived  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  in 
1791,  and,  having  been  received  into  the  diocese  of  Baltimore  by 
Bichop  Carroll,  exercised  the  ministry  at  Norfolk  and  Richmond, 
'  then  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  making  this  last  a  centre  whence 


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DIOOBSB  OF  NIBW  TOKX. 


180 


M 


his  pattoral  visits  extended  to  Emmittsbnrg  and  Winchester,  vis- 
iting the  remote  points  at  imminent  danger  in  all  seasons  and 
weathers.  He  built  churches  where  all  deemed  it  ijipossible 
to  do  so,  and  in  1805  began  a  brick  church  at  Mount  St.  Mary's. 
Here,  too,  he  opened  a  school,  which  soon  developed  into  Mount 
St.  Mary's  College,  of  which  he  was  long  president.  His  log 
college  was  succeeded  by  a  stone  building,  which  was  burned  to 
the  ground  just  as  it  was  ready  for  use.  Wh^n  Mother  Seton 
planted  the  first  house  of  her  community  of  Sisters  of  Charity 
near  the  college,  the  untiring  priest  added  to  his  duties  the  di- 
rection of  that  community.  His  college  was  also  a  theological 
seminary,  where  some  of  the  greatest  bishops  and  priests  of  the 
country  were  formed. 

From  this  scene  of  labor  so  productive  of  good  he  was  sum- 
moned by  the  voice  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ  to  assume  the  direc- 
tion of  the  diocese  of  New  York.  He  was  consecrated  October 
29, 1826,  in  Baltimore.  He  found  but  few  churches  in  his  dio- 
cese ;  yet,  with  all  the  energy  of  youth,  the  sezf^enarian  bishop 
set  to  work.  Six  other  churches  soon  rose  on  New  York  island 
alone,  and  others  in  various  parts  of  the  State. 

A  college  on  the  plan  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  was  one  of  the 
great  projects  of  Bishop  Du  Bois,  and  he  began  such  an  insti- 
tution at  Nyack ;  but  in  this,  and  m  the  establishment  of  paro- 
chial schools,  he  failed  to  elicit  a  hearty  co-operation  among  the 
people.  A  faction  arrayed  itself  against  him,  the  centre  of  the 
opposition  being  in  the  board  of  trustees  of  his  own  cathedral. 
He  visited  Europe  in  1829  for  the  benefit  of  his  diocese,  and  at 
the  Second  Council  of  Baltimore  aided  by  his  experience  and  ad- 
vice in  framing  regulations  for  the  benefit  of  religion.  Cramped 
and  hampered  as  he  was,  Bishop  Du  Bois  obtained  many  zealous 
clergymen  for  the  congregations  that  were  beginning  to  form  in 
all  parts  of  his  diocese,  and,  by  the  alms  from  the  Association  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  other  sources,  aided  the  congre- 
gations in  Mfecting  churches.  When,  in  1836,  his  failing  health 
required  the  aid  of  a  coadjutor,  Bishop  Du  Bois  had  forty-three 
priests  in  the  diocese,  where  he  found  on^y  a  few ;  there  wore 
twtety-six  churches,  a  college,  two  academies,  five  asylums,  and 
several  parish  schools.    The  next  year  the  Rev.  John  Hnghet, 


•:,*5^- 


186 


THE  OATHOLIO  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  Philadelphia,  was  appointed  his  coadjutor,  and  a  few  months 
later  the  venerable  Bishop  of  New  York  was  struck  with  para> 
lysis  while  walking  in  the  street.  He  never  recovered  his  health 
or  vigor,  and,  by  the  counsel  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  resigned 
the  administration  of  the  diocese  into  the  hands  of  Bishop 
Hughes.  His  life  of  active  usefulness  for  God  and  his  people 
was  thus  brought  to  a  close.  He  lingered  a  few  years  in  retire- 
ment, devoting  himself  to  devotion  and  good  works,  till  his 
death  on  the  20th  of  December,  1842.  His  body  was  interred  in 
front  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  in  Mott  Street. 


v^: 


MOST   REV.    JOHN  HUGHES, 

Fourth  Bishop  and  First  Archbishop  of  New  York, 

John  Hughes,  bom  at  Annalogan,  County  Tyrone,  Ireland, 
June  24,  1797,  was  one  of  the  greatest  bishops  of  the  Church  in 
the  United  States.  Emigrating  with  his  family  to  America  in 
1817,  he  applied  for  entrance  to  Mount  St.  Mary's  in  order  to 
receive  the  theological  instruction  to  fit  him  for  the  priesthood. 
There  was  no  vacancy,  but  he  took  charge  of  the  garden  to  be 
able  to  remain  and  study.  He  was  soon  guiding  and  directing 
others  as  teacher  and  prefect,  employing  his  pen  even  then  in 
defending  his  faith  against  newspaper  assailants.  After  having 
been  ordained  priest  October  15,  1826,"  he  was  stationed  at  Bed- 
ford, but  was  soon  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  hij  abilities 
were  displayed  at  St.  Joseph's  and  St.  Mary's. '  A  popular 
preacher,  an  able  writer,  the  Rev.  John  Hughes  was  ere  long  a 
notable  man.  Ele  founded  St.  John's  Orphan  Asylum,  attend- 
ed the  First  Provincial  Council  as  theologian,  erected  St.  John's 
Church,  and  by  his  singular  skill  and  learning  in  an  oral  con- 
troversy with  a  Presbyterian  minister.  Rev.  John  Breckenridge, 
Acquired  a  national  reputation. 


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THE  MCCT   REV.  JOHN   HUGHES, 

*  FIBST  ..RCHBI8H0P  OP  NBW  YOBK. 

Bom  in  Annalogan,  TyroM  Oo.,  Ireland,  Jum  34,  1709. 
Otdained  Oct.  16,  183";  ConsMrtted  Bishop  of  BaRileopolis,  Jan.  7. 
tma.  and  appointed  Coadjutor  of  New  Torlc;    Became  Bishop  of  New 
York,  184:9 ;  Created  Arehbirhop  of  New  Yorli,  October  S,  18R0.    Died 
in.  8, 1864. 


-;v&». 


« ! 


DI00B8E  OF  mm  YOVBL 


189 


In  1887  he  was  selected  as  coadjutor  to  Dr.  Du  Bois,  by 
whom  he  was  consecrated  to  the  see  of  Basileopolis  on  Janu- 
aiy  7,  1838,  Bishops  Fenwick  of  Boston,  and  Kenrick  of  Phila- 
delphia, being  assistants.  The  churches,  under  the  unwise  man* 
agement  of  trustees,  had  generally  become  loaded  with  debt,  and 
the  very  men  who  so  abused  their  trust  were  active  in  arraying 
the  weak  and  ignorant  against  their  pastors  and  bishop.  Nyack 
College  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Everywhere  a  firm  and  energetic 
hand  was  needed.  When  Bishop  Hughes  was  appointed  to  the 
sole  direction  of  the  diocese  as  administrator  he  broke  the 
power  of  the  trustees,  restored  the  credit  of  the  Catholic  congre* 
gations,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  erection  of  churches,  and 
founded  St.  John's  College  at  Fordham.  For  higher  education 
of  young  ladies  he  introduced  into  the  diocese  the  Ladies  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  who  .opened  an  academy  at  Astoria,  subsequently 
transferred  to  Manhattanville. 

After  a  visit  to  Europe  for  the  good  of  his  diocese  Bishop 
Hughes  took  an  active  part  in  a  movement  of  Catholics  to  re* 
cover  State  aid  for  their  parochial  schools,  such  as  had  been 
given  till  a  fraud  practised  by  a  Baptist  church  brought  de* 
nominational  schools  into  disfavor.  Bishop  Hughes  defended 
the  rights  of  Catholics  before  the  New  York  common  council 
against  an  array  of  eminent  lawy-.s  and  clergymen  whom  the 
Protestant  sects  sent  to  prove  that  a  system  under  which  they 
themselves  had  received  thousands  of  dollars  was  a  very  im- 
proper one,  simply  because  Catholics  advocated  it.  The  common 
council  rejected  the  claim,  and  both  political  parties  took  ground 
against  it.  The  Catholics  thereupon  ran  a  ticket  of  their  own,  and 
developed  such  strength  that  the  bigoted  Public-School  Society 
gave  up  its  schools,  and  the  State  organized  a  series  of  schools 
from  which  all  offensive  religious  matter  was  to  be  excluded. 

In  1842  Bishop  Hughes  held  the  fir&l  diocesan  synod  of  New 
York,  It  was  attended  by  sixty-four  priests.  At  the  close  of 
the  year  he  became,  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Du  Bois,  Bishop  of  New 
York.  The  diocese  comprised  the  whole  State  of  New  York  and 
half  of  New  Jersey — a  territory  in  which  there  were  seven  bish- 
oprics in  1884.  The  increase  of  churches  and  institutions  made 
this  vast  field  too  much  to  govern  unaided,  and  in  1844  Dn 


.'-!l| 


"'jr> 


140 


THE  CATHOLIO  HnBRARORY  IN  THE  iTinTBX)  STATB& 


te. 


Hughes  obtained  as  coadjutor  tlie  Right  Rev.  John  McCloskey. 
That  same  year  Bishop  Hughes,  by  his  firmness  and  decision, 
saved  New  York  from  scenes  of  arson  and  murder  such  as  had 
been  beheld  in  Philadelphia,  where  Catholics  were  shot  down, 
their  houses  and  churches  given  to  the  flames.  Finding  that  the 
public  mind,  debauched  by  fanatics,  would  never  allow  the  pub- 
lic schools  to  be  anything  but  a  weapon  in  their  hands  against 
the  faith  of  his  flock,  Bishop  Hughes  declared  that  tHe  time  had 
come  when  Catholics  must  build  the  school  first  and  the  church 
afterwards.  Under  his  impulse  schools  started  up  in  all  parts, 
erected  and  sustained  by  sacrifices  such  as  no  other  body  has 
ever  made.  To  give  the  educational  institutions  of  the  diocese 
every  efficiency  he  invited  the  Jesuit  Fathers  to  assume  the' 
direction  of  St.  John's  College  and  of  St.  Joseph's  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  which  he  had  founded  near  it.  He  reorganized 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  as  JEt  body  distinct  from  those  of  Emmitts- 
burg,  who  had  abandoned  the  rule  of  Mother  Seto^,  though  the 
Sisters  in  New  York  adhere  to  it. 

In  time  he  obtained  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  and 
other  teaching  orders  for  both  sexes — Sisters-of  Mercy,  Sisters 
of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  for  the  increasing  German  Catholic 
body  the  Redemptorist  Fathers.  Bishop  Hughes  took  a  promi* 
nent  part  in  the  deliberations  of  several  of  the  Provincial  Coun- 
cils, and  in  the  sixth  obtained  the  recommendation  of  a  division 
of  his  diocese.  A  see  was  accordingly  erected  at  Albany,  of 
which  Bishop  McCloskey  took  possession,  and  another  at  Buffalo. 
He  was  a  keen  observer  of  the  public  mind,  and  when  religion 
was  assailed  or  misrepresented  his  keen,  clear,  vigorous  words 
came  forth  like  clarion  notes,  and  were  echoed  through  the  press 
over  the  whole  land.  He  was  recognized  as  the  leader  of  Cath- 
olic though!;.  When  war  broke  out  with  Mexico  our  govern- 
ment tendered  him  a  diplomatic  appointment  with  a  view  of  re- 
storing peace.  On  the  Sd  of  October,  1850,  Pope  Pius  IX.,  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  Council  of  Baltimore,  promoted  him 
to  the  rank  of  archbishop  ^nd  erected  new  sees  at  Brooklyn  and 
Newark.  Soon  after  he  held  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  New 
York,  which  was  attended  by  his  seven  suffragans,  the  bishopt  of 
New  England,  New  York,  ard  New  Jersey. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  TORE. 


141 


In  1854  he  visited  Kome  on  the  occasion  of  the  definition  of 
the  Dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  by  the  great  Pope, 
Pius  IX.  Soon  after  he  saw  the  legislature  propose  an  act  to 
wrest  the  Catholic  Church  property  from  the  hands  of  the  bishops. 
In  a  controversy  with  Hon.  Erastus  Brooks  he  refuted  the  false* 
hoods  on  which  the  proposed  legislation  was  based,  and  placed 
on  record  evidence  of  the  iniquity  and  unconstitutional  character 
of  the  law ;  the  legislature  yielded  to  public  clamor  fanned  by 
fanatics,  but  soon  cancelled  its  own  weak  work.  The  care  of  the 
diocese  and  the  burden  of  responsibility  began  to  weigh  heavily 
on  the  archbishop ;  he  even  begged  the  Holy  Father  for  permis> 
sion  to  resign  his  see.  Yielding,  however,  to  the  encouraging 
words  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  he  set  to  work  to  begin  for  his 
diocese  a  grand  cathedral  worthy  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  of 
the  great  city.  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  had  for  nearly  half  a 
century  owned  landyn  Fifth  Avenue,  which  had  now  become 
the  most  fashionable  street  in  New  York.  On  this  site  the  arch- 
bishop in  1858,  with  great  pomp,  laid  the  comer-st  jne  of  a  noble 
cathedral,  for  which  Mr.  Renwick  had  prepared  the  plans.  Work 
was  immediately  commenced,  and  continued  till  the  civil  war 
made  it  impossible  to  proceed. 

When  that  great  struggle  came  on — which  Archbishop  Hughes 
had  prophetically  foretold,  reminding  the  people  that  the  Catho- 
lic clergy  and  people  had  had  no  share  in  producing  the  angry 
feelings  which  had  engendered  and  precipitated  it — ^he  gave  his 
earnest  support  to  the  national  government,  and  went  to  Europe 
on  a  diplomatic  mission  with  a  view  to  counteract  the  feeling 
unfavorable  to  the  United  States  which  envoys  of  the  seced- 
ing States  had  excited  in  more  than  one  European  cabinet. 
While  in  Europe  he  visited  Rome  and  took  part  in  the  canoni- 
zation  of  the  Japanese  Martyrs.  He  held  a  second  Provincial 
Council  after  his  return,  and  continued  his  plans  for  the  increase 
of  religion  in  his  flock ;  his  pastorals,  addresses,  and  writings,  as 
well  as  his  oral  discourses,  being  stamped  with  vigor,  manliness, 
a  sense  of  the  greatness  and  dignity  of  the  Catholic  Church,  that 
infused  itself  into  his  people,  making  them  proud  to  be  Ameri- 
can Catholics  and  eager  to  live  so  as  to  maintain  that  high  char- 
acter with  credit  among  their  fellow-citizens.    During  the  ter> 


f'~^ 


mi 


142 


THE  OATHOLIO  HIBRARCHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


rible  Draft  Riots,  Archbishop  Hughes,  then  in  feeble  health,  ad< 
dressed  ^\e  people  from  his  balcony  and  did  all  in  his  power  to 
allay  the  excited  feelings.  L  was  his  last  public  appearance; 
disease  was  sapping  his  vital  powers,  and  at  last  he  was  oven 
unable  to  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  He  felt  that  the  end  was 
approaching  and  calmly  prepared  for  his  last  moment.  He  died 
on  the  3d  of  January,  1864. 

No  man  ever  exercised  greater  influence  in  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States  than  Archbishop  Hughes ;  on  all  im- 
portant occasions  his  words  were  awaited  by  the  faithful 
throughout  the  country  and  the  public  at  large  as  the  exposition 
of  the  Catholic  view.  The  archbishop  had  attained  this  in- 
fluence without  an  effort,  held  it  without  envy,  and  used  it  only 
for  the  highest  ends.  -.,  '^      ^    u-; 


HIS  EMINENCE  JOHN  CARDINAL  McCLOSKEY, 

JFi^at  Bishop  of  Albany,  Second  Archbishop  of  New   Yorh. 

John  McCloskey  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  ISlarch  20, 
1810,  and  was  baptized  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  New  York,  then 
the  only  Catholic  church  in  or  near  the  city.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  he  was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's,  where  he  was  honorably 
graduated  in  1820.  Deciding  to  become  a  priest,  he  returned  to 
Emmittsburg,  and,  after  completing  his  divinity  course,  was  or- 
dained by  Bishop  Du  Bois,  January  12,  1834.  After  spending  a 
few  years  in  Rome  for  more  thorough  study,  he  became  pastor  of 
St.  Joseph's  Church,  N.  Y.,  in  1838,  and  in  1841  president  of  St. 
John's  College  and  of  St.  Joseph's  Theological  Seminary,  Fordhara. 
"When  Bishop  Hughes  sought  a  coadjutor  the  Rev.  Mr.  McClos- 
key, the  choice  of  the  bishop  and  clergy  alike,  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Axiern,  March  10,  1844.  Residing  at  St.  Joseph's, 
Bishop  McCloskey  assumed  much  of  the  labor,  visiting  remote 
parts  of  the  State  to  confirm,  examine,  and  adjudicate.  When 
the  diocese  was  divided  he  was,  in  May,  1847,  transferred  to  the 
see  of  Albany.    Already  familiar  with  the  clergy  of  the  new 


.1.*.*^ 


If^i 


1^ 


.-.^^ 


'2«iJ 


ilOOBSB  07  NBW  TOBX. 


140 


diooMe  and  its  wantB,  he  set  to  work  energetically  and  infused 
into  his  flock  a  spirit  of  faith  and  sacrifice.  Schools,  academies, 
asylums,  and  churches  sprang  up  in  all  parts.  Every  year  be* 
held  new  progress.  In  1864  the  diocese  of  Albany  had  one  hun* 
dred  and  thirteen  churches,  eight  chapels,  and  fiiN;y  stations,  at- 
tended by  eighty-five  secular  and  regular  priests^  the  latter  em- 
bracing members  of  the  Augustinian  Order,  Minor  Conventuals 
of  St.  Francis,  and  Oblates  of  Mary  Immaculate.  The  Ladies  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  directed  a  fine  academy  at  Kenwood ;  Sisters  of 
Mercy  devoted  themselves  to  works  of  charity ;  Brothers  of  the 
Christian  Schools,  Sih  ers  of  Charity  and  of  St.  Joseph,  Gray  Nuns 
from  Montreal,  and  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis 
controlled  schools  and  asylums.  From  this  flourishing  diocese, 
which  owed  so  much  to  his  zeal,  he  was,  on  the  death  of  Arch- 
bishop Hughes,  summoned  to  fill  the  archiepiscopal  throne  of 
New  York. 

As  Bishop  of  Alban]^  his  great  theological  learning,  as  well 
as  his  experience  and  prudence,  had  been  manifested  in  the 
Seventh  Council  of  Baltimore  m  1849  and  in  the  Plenaiy  Coun- 
cil of  Baltimore  in  1852,  as  well  as  in  the  Provincial  Councils 
held  in  New  York  in  1854  and  1861.  In  his  own  diocese  he 
convoked  synods  in  1868  and  1882,  and  adopted  wise  regula- 
tions for  its  better  administration. 

On  his  return  to  New  York  the  Catholic  Protectory  felt  bis 
fostering  care  and  grew  to  be  an  institution  of  immense  benefit  to 
the  State.  He  felt  the  want  of  church  accommodation  in  New 
York  City,  and  after  creating  new  parishes,  in  which  he  placed 
active  priests  to  build  up.  church  and  school,  he  resumed  the 
work  on  the  cathedral,  which  had  been  suspended  during  the 
war.  After  the  Seconc*  Plenary  Council,  which  he  attended,  in 
1866,  he  promulgated  its  decrees  in  the  synod  which  he  held  at 
New  York  iB  September,  1868. 

The  next  year  he  attended  the  General  Council  of  the^^i- 
can,  where  his  piety  and  learning  won  general  esteem.  In TrevS 
he  dedicated  his  diocese  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.  The 
young  Church  of  the  United  States  had  never  been  represented 
in  the  Sacred  College,  and  there  was  universal  joy  when  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  in  the  Consistory  held  March  15,  1875,  created  Arch- 


UMiii 


Hii, 


146 


TRB  OATHOUO  HIBRAROHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STAT1& 


bishop  IfcOloskey  Cardinal  Priest  of  the  Holy  Roman  Ohuroh. 
The  insignia  of  the  high  dignity  were  despatched  to  him,  and  the 
beretta  was  formally  presented  to  him  in  St.  Patriok's  Cathedral. 
Th?  cardinal  soon  after  proceeded  to  Uome,  where,  with  the  usu* 
'  .'eremonies,  he  took  possession  of  the  church  of  Santa  Maria 
i-»praMinervam,  of  which  he  bears  the  title. 

On  the  death  of  the  great  Pontiff,  Pius  IX.,  Cardinal  Mo* 
Closkey  was  summoned  to  attend  the  Conclave.  He  set  out  for 
Europe  in  obedience  to  the  call,  but  before  he  reached  the  Eter* 
nal  City  the  voice  of  the  Sacred  College,  guided  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  had  elected  Cardinal  Pecci,  who  assumed  the  name  of 
Leo  XIII. 

Religion  was  progressing  in  his  diocese.  The  Dominican 
Fathers  came  at  last  to  open  the  church  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer; 
the  Capuchin  Fathers  took  charge  of  German  churches;  the 
Reformed  Franciscans  founded  an  Italian  church,  while  Bro- 
thers of  Mary,  Franciscan  Brothera,  Presentation  Nuns,  Sisters  of 
Christian  Charity,  and  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary 
came  to  aid  the  communities  devoted  to  education  and  works  of 
mercy.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  met  a  want  that  New  York  had 
long  felt,  by  opening  a  Foundling  Asylum.  The  Little  Sisters 
of  the  Poor  opened  houses  for  th  aged  poor ;  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Drumgoole  founded  a  great  institution  for  homeless  boys,  the 
Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  for  which  in  time  an  imposing 
building  was  erected  in  the  city  and  a  farm  acquired  in  the 
country.  The  Bon  Secours  Sisters  came  from  France  to  nurse 
the  sick  in  their  homes,  and  soon  found  that  the  calls  for  their 
services  demanded  numbers  of  Sisters.  Meanwhile  the  Catholic 
Union  and  its  vigorous  branch,  the  Xavier  Union,  united  and 
strengthened  the  Catholic  laity. 

The  magnificent  cathedral  of  St.  Patrick  was  at  last  com« 
pleted,  the  finest  ecclesiastical  structure  in  America ;  it  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  25th  of  May,  1879,  by  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Mc* 
Closkey,  assisted  by  forty-two  archbishops  and  bishops,  with  a 
pomp  such  as  never  had  been  witnessed  in  the  United  States. 

The  advanced  age  and  increasing  infirmities  of  the  venerable 
cardinal  called  for  the  services  of  a  coadjutor,  and  on  the  1st  of 
Oi^ber,  1880,  the  Right  Rev.  Michael  A.  Corrigan,  Bishop  of 


DIOOlfiS  OF  NBW  YORK. 


147 


Newark,  was  promoted  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Petra  and 
made  coadjutor  to  the  Archbishop  of  New  York.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1882,  Cai-dinal  McCloskey  held  a  s^nod  of  his  diocese,  and 
soon  after  presided  in  a  Provincial  Council.  When  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  assembled  in  Baltimore  in  November,  1884,  His 
Eminence,  owing  to  his  advanced  age  and  infirmities,  was  not 
summoned,  and  all  regretted  the  absence  of  one  whose  long 
experience  would  have  been  so  useful  to  the  hierarchy  gathered 
in  the  cathedral  church  of  a  Carroll,  a  Marechal,  and  a  Spalding. 

Cardinal  McCloskey  offered  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  the 
last  time  on  the  feast  of  the  Ascension,  1884,  the  exertion  even 
for  that  solemn  nte  having  become  gradually  too  much  for  his 
waning  strength.  After  that  he  was  unable  to  read  or  write  or 
take  a  single  step  without  assistance.  Sinking  slowly,  he  bore 
with  serenity  the  utter  helplessness,  looking  patiently  to  the  end, 
never  murmuring  or  complaining.  With  the  Hail  Mary  on  his 
lips  he  expired  October  10,  1885. 

The  funeral  obsequies  drew  crowds  which  filled  the  vast  ca- 
thedral, and  no  more  impressive  sight  was  ever  witnessed  in  New 
York  City. 

In  person  Cardinal  McCloskey  was  nearly  six  feet  high, 
straight  and  thin ;  his  features  were  regular,  his  brow  lofty,  his 
eye  keen ;  his  countenance  calm  and  serious,  inclining  to  stem- 
ness,  but  relieved  by  a  pleasant  expression  which  it  almost 
always  wore.  The  sensitiveness  of  his  eyes  gave  portraits  taken 
by  the  strong  light  of  the  camera  a  frown-like  contraction  be- 
tween the  eyes  that  was  not  habitual  to  him.  He  avoided  all 
notoriety  and  parade,  and  sought  to  accomplish  his  high  duties 
simply  and  thoroughly. 


^ 


■n. 


148 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBRABCHY  IN  TBB  UNITBD  STATES. 


MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  A.  CORRIGAN, 

Second  Bishop  of  Newa/rh  cmd  Third  Archbiahop  of  New  York, 


Michael  Augustine  Cobbigan  was  bom  in  Newark,  New 
Jersey,  of  Irish  parents,  August  13,  1839.  While  prospering  in 
life,  the  family  retained  such  piety  and  love  for  religion  that 
three  of  the  sons  became  priests,  and  a  daughter  a  nun  at  Meauz, 
in  France.  Michael  was  sent  in  1853  to  St.  Mary's  College,  Wil- 
mington, but  two  years  later  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's  at  Em- 
mittsburg,  where  his  ability  and  studious  character  won  a  high 
rank.  When  the  American  College  at  Rome,  which  had  been 
founded  by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  was  opened  for  students,  Michael  A. 
Corrigan  was  the  first  seminarian  chosen  and  the  first  to  enter. 
ITe  was  ordained  in  the  Lateran  Basilica,  September  19,  1863,  by 
Cardinal  Patrizi,  but  prolonged,  his  residence  in  Rome  in  order  to 
complete  his  studies  and  win  his  doctor's  cap.  On  his  return 
to  Newark  in  August,  1864,  Bishop  Bayley,  who  had  the  high- 
est esteem  for  his  learning  and  piety,  appointed  him  professor 
of  dogmatic  theology  and  Sacred  Scripture  in  the  seminary  at 
Seton  Hall.  He  soon  became  director  of  that  institution  and 
vice-president  of  Seton  Hall  College,  and  its  presidei<t  after  the 
elevation  of  Dr.  McQuaid  to  the  see  of  Rochester.  In  his  de- 
votion to  the  cause  of  education  Dr.  Corrigan  bent  all  his  ener- 
gies to  render  Seton  Hall  a  college  of  the  highest  rank. 

During  the  absence  of  Bishop  Bayley  at  the  Vatican  Council 
in  1 870  Dr.  Corrigan  was  vicar-general  and  administrator  of  the 
diocese,  discharging  the  onvirous  additional  duties  with  singu- 
lar prudence.  When  Bishop  Bayley  was  promoted  to  the  see  of 
Baltimore  Dr.  Corrigan  was  elected  Bishop  of  Newark  on  the 
14th  of  February,  1873,  and  on  the  feast  of  Patronage  of  Saint 
Joseph  (May  4)  was  consecrated  in  his  own  cathedral  by  His 
Grace  Archbishop  McCloskey,  of  New  York,  seventeen  bishops 
being  present,  and  was  at  once  enthroned.  He  was  the  youngest 
member  of  the  American  hierarchy,  but  showed  the  maturity  and 
experience  of  years.    Retaining  the  presidency  of  the  college  to 


Most  Rev.  M.  A.  Corrigan,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  New  York. 


•  r 


IS" ' 


%iM, 


f  '» 


••; 


DiocnsB  OF  vm  yobk. 


U9 


whiob  he  was  so'  greatly  attached,  he  devoted  his- mind  to  the 
increase  of  religion.  His  diocese  was  already  a  flourishiiig  one, 
with  121  churches  anc^.  mission  stations,  116  priests,  57  parochial' 
schools.  <>  He  introduced  the  Jesuits,  Dominican  Fathers,  and  Fran- 
ciscan Recollects,  established  a  Catholic  Protectory  for  Boys  at 
•  Denville,  under  the  care  of  the  Franciscan  Brothers,  a  House  of 
the  Ghood  Shepherd  at  Newark,  and  an  hospittkl  in  charge  of  the 
Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor  of  St.  Francis.  Besides  these  orders 
engaged  in  active  works  of  mercy,  he  wished  to  endow  the  dio* 
cese  with  a  contemplative  ord^sr,  convinced  that  it  would  draw 
down  blessings  on  all.  The  Dominican  Nuns  of  the  Perpetual 
Adoration  from  Lyons,  France,  came  to  fulfil  his  wish. 

Synods  held  in  1878  and  1879  renewed  and  extended  the  stat- 
utes previously  promulgated  by  Bishop  Bayley  for  the  Church 
under  his  care.  Meanwhile  the  Catholic  schools  received  an  im* 
pulse,  so  that  towards  thf  l-^se  of  1880  there  were  in  New 
Jersey  one  hundred  and  ^  'iree,  with  more  than  twenty-six 
thousand  pupils.  The  churches  had  increased  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty,  with  forty  stations,  and  the  piiests  to  one  hundred  and 
ninety-two. 

The  advanced  age  of  Cardinal  McCloskey  made  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  coadjutor  a  necessity,  and,  to  the  regret  of  the  Catholics 
of  New  Jersey,  Bishop  Corrigan  was,  on  the  1st  of  October, 
1880,  promoted  to  the  see  of  Petra  and  made  coadjutor  to  the 
Archbishop  of  New  York  with  the  right  of  succession. 

In  his  new  position  the  active  part  of  the  episcopal  work  Soon 
devolved  upon  him — the  visitation  of  the  diocese,  ordinations, 
confirmations,  dedications.  The  Fourth  Provincial  Council 
and  Fourth  Synod  of  New  York,  were  mainly  directed  by  him, 
and  for  the  use  of  such  assemblies  he  had  a  useful  manual  prepared. 
He  was  summoned  to  Rome  as  one  of  the  archbishops  whom 
the  Holy  See  wished  to  consult  in  regard  to  the  work  of  the  pro- 
posed Plenary  Council,  and  when  that  body  met  in  November, 
1884,  he  represented  the  diocese  of  New  York. 

On  the  death  of  his  Eminence  Cardinal  McCloskey,  Arch- 
bishop Corrigan  became,  on  the  10th  of  October,  1885,  third  Me- 
tropolitan of  the  province  of  New  York, 


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DIOCESE  OF  C  iHGON. 


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MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  NORBE     '  BLANCHET, 

Mrat  Bishop  and  Mrat  Arohhishop  of  Oregon. 

Fbaitgxs  Nobbebt  Blai^ohet  was  bom  in  Canada,  in  the 
parish  of  fcc.  Pierre,  Riviere  du  Sud,  on  the  3d  of  September, 
1795,  and  was  educated  at  the  Petit  Seminaire,  Quebec.  After 
passing  through  the  course  of  the  Theological  Seminary  he  was 
ordained  priest  by  Archbishop  Plessis,  July  18,  1819.  He  spent 
some  years  on  the  mission  at  Richibouctou,  and  in  1828  was  ap- 
pointed cur^,  or  parish  priest,  of  Soulanges.  He  was  parish  priest 
of  Les  Cadres,  in  1838,  when  Archbishop  Signay,  of  Quebec,  ask- 
ed for  priests  in  his  diocese  to  undertake  a  mission  in  Oregon. 
Canadians,  led  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  by  the  great  fur 
companies,  had  settled  in  Oregon,  and  after  applying  to  Bishop 
Provancher,  of  Red  River,  for  a  priest,  had,  at  his  advice,  as  he 
was  unable  to  help  them,  appealed  to  the  ^^accessor  of  Laval. 
Rev.  Mr.  Blanchet  responded  to  the  call,  and,  having  been  ap- 
pointed vicar-general  for  Oregon,  set  out  with  one  priest.  Rev. 
Modest  Demers.  They  reached  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  24th  of 
November,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Blanchet  began  the  labors  which  were 
to  occupy  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  found  Canadians  to  be  at- 
tended, Indians  ready  for  instruction  to  embrace  the  faith — a  field 
not  for  one  priest  but  for  many.  Other  priests  soon  arrived,  many 
Indians  were  converted,  a  college  opened,  and  Father  De  Smet 
arrived  from  Europe  with  Jesuit  Fathers  for  the  Indian  mission, 
and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  from  Namur  to  establish  a  school. 
By  this  time  Oregon  was  a  vicariate-apostolic,  erected  Decem- 
ber 1,  1843,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Blanchet,  who  at  this  time  received  his 
bulls,  returned  to  Canada  and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Drasa, 
July  25,  1845,  by  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Bourget,  assisted  by  Bishops 
Gaulin  and  Turgeon.    He  then  proceeded  to  Rome,  where  he  ex 

160 


^**' 


,f^F^ 


DIOOBSB  OF  OREGON. 


151 


plainsd  tlie  position  of  the  Territory ;  in  view  of  the  rapid  settle- 
ment  of  Oregon,  which  seemed  certain,  Pope  Pius  IX.  resolved  to 
erect  an  archiepiscopal  see  with  sufi'ragans.  Oregon  City  was 
made  the  see  of  the  archbishop,  and  Wallawalla  and  Vancouver's 
Island,  with  six  other  places,  established  ad  bishoprics  or  districts. 
Thus  Dr.  Blanchet  became  in  July,  1846,  Archbishop  of  Oregon. 
He  returned  to  his  diocese  in  August,  1847,  brihging  eight  secu* 
lar  and  regular  prjests  and  seven  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  besides 
several  ecclesiastiics.  After  the  consecration  of  Bishops  Blanchet 
and  Demers  the  First  Provincial  Council  of  Oregon  was  held  in 
February,  1848.  The  diocese  of  Oregon  had  then  ten  secular 
priests,  two  Jesuits,  and  a  community  of  Sisters.  The  discov^ty 
of  gold  in  California  diverted  emigrants  from  Oregon,  and  even 
drew  away  much  of  the  populatior.  of  that  Territory.  Indian 
wars  also  tended  to  check  emigration,  a  Protestant  missionary 
having  been  killed,  and  another  saved  only  by  the  heroic  inter- 
ference of  a  Catholic  priest,  whose  only  reward  has  been  the  most 
unblushing  calumny  from  sectarian  writers.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances Oregon  languished,  religious  communities  left  the 
diocese,  and  in  1865  Archbishop  Blanchet  visited  South  America, 
and  subsequently  Canada,  to  solicit  aid.  He  attended  the  First 
and  Second  Plenary  Councils  of  Baltimore,  but  most  of  his  ^fe 
was  spent  in  his  diocese  as  a  zealous  missionary,  building  up 
slowly  the  Church  confided  to  him.  In  1865,  as  Oregon  City  had 
made  no  progress,  he  removed  to  Portland.  Infirmities  began  to 
weaken  him  in  1878,  and  the  Right  Rev.  Charles  J.  Seghers,  of 
Vancouver's  Island,  was  made  coadjutor.  The  diocese  of  Oregon 
had  by  this  time  grown.  It  had  twenty-three  priests,  twenty  two 
churches,  a  college,  nine  academies,  a  hospital,  an  orphanage,  and 
schools  for  a  population  of  20,000.  The  venerable  archbishop 
soon  after  resigned  the  see  and  announced  his  retirement  in  a 
touching  pastoral  on  the  27th  of  February,  1881.  The  patriarch 
of  the  Northwest  remained  at  the  scene  of  his  lifelong  labors, 
preparing  for  his  last  end.  His  strength  gradually  failed  him, 
and  he  passed  away  painlessly  on  the  18th  of  June,  1883,  closing 
a  holy  life  with  a  most  edifying  death.  As  he  had  desired,  he 
was  interred  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Paul  amid  the  oldest  Cana> 
dian  settlement  in  Oregon. 


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162 


THS  CATHOLIC  HIBRARCHY  TM  THB  UNITED  STATUS. 


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iv: 


I"       I 


MOST  REV.  0!IARLES  JOHN  3EGHERS, 

Second  Bishop  of    Vmoouver^a  Island,  Second  Archbkhop  <f 

Oregon, 

OiiARLBS  John  Seohkrs  was  born  at  G>  it,  Deo.  26,  1889. 
Like  many  devoted  men  of  that  truly  Gath«.  ao  countiy,  he  re- 
solved to  devote  himself  to  the  American  mission.  The  poorest 
and  most  laborious  diocese  on  the  northern  continent  was  his 
choice.  Bishop  Demers,  of  Vancouver's  Island,  placed  him  in 
his  cathedral  as  one  of  the  assistant  priests,  and  till  the  death  of 
that  zealous  pioneer  prelate,  Rev.  Mr.  Seghei-s  labored  with  the 
utmost  devotedness  among  the  white  and  Indian  population. 
He  was  finally  made  vicar-general,  and  became,  on  the  death  of 
Bishop  Demera,  administrator  of  the  diocese.  To  fill  the  va- 
cancy the  choice  of  the  Hojy  See  was  soon  fixed  on  the  hum- 
ble and  laborious  priest.  He  was  elected  Bishop  of  Vancou- 
ver's Island,  and  was  consecrated  June  29,  1873.  He  assumed 
charge  of  the  diocese,  extending  his  missionary  labors  to  the 
bleak  Territory  of  Alaska. 

When  the  veteran  of  the  Pacific,  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Blanchet, 
found  that  his  advanced  age  and  infirmities  announced  the  close 
of  his  long  labors,  he  selected  Bishop  Seghers  as  his  coadjui,jr, 
and  in  1878  that  prelate  was  transferred  to  the  archbishopric  of 
Emesa  and  made  coadjutor.  He  reached  Portland  on  the  Ist  of 
July,  1879,  and  was  received  by  the  venerable  founder  of  the 
diocese.  He  aided  him  so  acceptably  that  in  February,  1881, 
the  aged  archbishop  resigned  the  see,  and  the  whole  burden 
devolved  on  Mgr.  Seghers.  He  was  soon  called  to  officiate  on 
the  funeral  of  his  predecessor,  whose  zeal  and  virtues  he  imi- 
tates. He  went  to  Rome  in  1873  and  remained  in  Europe  for 
the  interests  of  his  diocese.  When  Bishop  Brondel  was  trans- 
ferred to  Montana,  and  none  of  the  clergymen  selected  for  the 
vacant  see  seemed  willing  to  accept  that  laborious  and  straitened 
position.  Archbishop  Seghers  applied  to  the  Holy  Father  to  be 
restored  to  the  diocese  of  Vancouver's  Island,  as  another  could 
be  more  rwdily  found  for  the  see  of  Oregon.        .  ;  .h  r^ 


sv 


Most  Rev.  William  H.  Gross,  D.U., 
Archbishop  of  Oregon  City,  Ore. 


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DI0018B  OF  ORIGON. 


158 


In  1888  he  resigned  the  see  of  Oregon  City  to  return  to  Van- 
couver's Island.  Zealous  for  the  conversion  of  the  Alaska  Indians, 
he  set  out  for  that  Territory  in  1886,  and,  having  left  some  Jesuit 
fathers  at  Stewart's  River,  was  asleep  in  his  tent  near  Nulata,  on  the 
morning  of  November  28,  when  he  was  roused  by  his  guide  and  at- 
tendant, who  shot  him  dead.  :   / 


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MOS  r  REV.  WILLIAM  H.  GROSS, 

JFifth  Bishop  of  Savannah  and  Third  Archbishop  of  Oregim. 

William  H.  Gross  was  bom  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  on  the 
12th  of  June,  1837,  his  parents  being  also  natives  of  that  city. 
On  his  father's  side  he  was  descended  from  an  Alsatian  family 
who  came  to  this  country  while  Maryland  was  still  a  British  col- 
ony ;  on  his  mother's  side  his  family  was  Irish.  Their  sou  was 
for  many  years  a  student  in  St.  Charles'  College,  the  preparatory 
seminary  of  the  diocese  of  Baltimore.  Feeling  a  vocation  for  the 
religious  state,  he  entered  the  novitiate  of  the  Redemptorist  order 
at  Annapolis  on  the  Feast  of  the  Annunciation,  1857.  After  his 
novitiate  and  theological  course  he  was  ordained  priest  by  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick,  March  21,  1863,  in  the  Redemptorist  church, 
Annapolis.  The  young  priest  was  immediately  employed  by  his 
superiors  in  attending  the  numerous  wounded  soldiers  in  the 
military  hospitals  around  Annapolis,  and  he  also  preached  to  the 
soldiers  in  the  camp  of  paroled  priponerd  near  that  city.  He  was 
also  directed  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  infuse  some  clear  religious 
ideas  into  tlie  minds  of  the  neglected  negroes.  From  the  year 
1664  he  was  assigned  by  his  superiors  to  a  band  of  the  Redemp- 
torist Fathers  engaged  in  giving  missions  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, reviving  faith  in  the  tepid  by  clear  and  forcible  sermons,  and 
by  assiduous  and  careful  guidance  in  the  confessional.  In  these 
missions  Father  Gross  was  recognized  as  a  talented  «nd  able  reli- 
gious. He  was  attached  to  St.  Alphonsus'  Church,  in  New  York 
City,  for  five  years,  and  then  became  superior  at  the  church  of  his 
order  in  Boston,    In  1873  he  was  elected  to  the  4ee  of  Savannah, 


EP/f's^, ,i"rr J^i!w^H)»'>F(  'ptT. 


■5.'if'^f"r'?CTj 


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TBB  OATBOUO  HIBBABOHT  IN  THE  UVITBD  8TATB8. 


p. 


and,  baring  received  conaeorstion  on  the  27tli  of  April,  wm  in* 
•tailed  by  his  predecessor. 

Bishop  Gross  has  done  much  to  spread  the  Oospel  among  the 
colored  population,  the  Benedictines  and  Franciscan  Sisters  hav- 
ing come  to  labor  in  a  field  vrhich  has  not  yet  gladdened  the 
patient  missionaries  with  remarkable  results.  Deeming  schools 
almost  the  only  successful  means  of  saving  the  poor  colored  peo* 
pie,  he  bent  every  effort  to  establish  them  wherever  possible. 

When  Archbishop  Seghers  resigned  the  see  of  Oregon  in  1884 
Bishop  Gross  was  promoted  to  the  vacant  metropolitan  throne. 

Under  the  administration  of  Archbishop  Gross  this  diocese,  in 
1891,  presents  the  following  summary:  67  priests,  53  churches 
and  12  chapels,  and  15  ecclesiastical  students;  2  colleges  and  8 
academies,  24  parochial  schools  with  2,040  pupils,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  30,400. 


DIOCESE  OF  PHIUDELPHIA. 


RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  EGAN, 

Mr8t  Bishop  of  Philadelphia, 

Michael  Eoan  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  at  an  early  age 
entered  the  Franciscan  Order.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1802,  and  was  received  into  the  diocese  of  Baltimore  by  Bish- 
op Carroll,  who  stationed  him  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  as  as- 
sistant  to  the  Very  Bev.  Mr.  de  Barth.  He  soon  became  pastor 
of  Si  Mary's  Church  in  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Carroll  had  recog- 
nized in  him  a  learned,  modest,  and  humble  priest,  who  main- 
tained, though  alone  and  far  from  a  convent  of  his  order,  the 
true  spirit  of  St.  Francis.  One  great  desire  that  animated 
him  was  to  establish  the  Ox.  jr  of  Friars  Minor  in  the  United 
States,  and  on  the  29th  of  September,  1804,  he  obtained  an 
apostolic  rescript  authorizing  him  to  erect  here  a  Francis- 
can province.  On  the  division  of  the  diocese  of  Baltimore 
and  the  creation  of  the  see  of  Philadelphia  Father  Egan  was 
recommended  for  its  first  bishop,  and  was  appointed  April  8, 
1809.  The  bulls  did  hot  arrive  till  late  in  the  following  year, 
and  it  was  not  till  October  28,  1810,  that  he  was  consecrated  in 
the  cathedral  of  Baltimore.  Archbishop  Carroll  had  as  a  pre- 
liminary step  required  that  a  suitable  income  should  be  secured 
to  the  bishop,  but  Dr.  Egan,  soon  after  arriving  and  selecting  St. 
Mary's  Church  as  his  cathedral,  found  himself  at  the  mercy  of 
trustees,  who  made  his  life  a  martyrdom.  His  diocese  contained 
fourteen  priests,  eleven  being  Jesuits  and  Augustinians.  He 
labored  to  increase  the  churches  and .  clergy,  but  his  infirm 
health  and  the  constant  opposition  of  factious  men  paralyzed  his 
efforts  and  hastened  his  end.    He  died  on  the  22d  of  July,  1814. 

106 


15tf  TH£  OATHOLIO  UIBRABOBY  IN  tHB  UMlTlD  8TAT18. 


RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  OONWELL, 

Second  Bishop  of  Philadelphia, 

HsNBT  CoNWELL  was  bom  in  the  diocese  of  Armagh,  Ireland, 
tibout  the  year  1748,  and,  full  of  the  spirit  of  faith,  studied  for 
the  priesthood  amid  all  the  dangers  of  the  penal  laws.  He  was 
ordained  in  1776,  and  as  curate  and  parish  pnest  labored  in  his 
native  diocese  with  all  zeal.  His  merit  raised  him  to  the  posi* 
tion  of  vicar-general,  and  on  the  vacancy  of  the  see  his  name 
was  one  of  those  sent  on  to  Rome.  When  experienced  priests  dH> 
clined  the  appointment  to  the  see  of  Philadelphia  Dr.  Conwell 
was  nominated,  and,  accepting  the  bulls,  received  consecration 
in  London  in  1820.  He  came  immediately  to  Philadelphia,  and, 
notwithstanding  his  advanced  age,  began  a  visitation  of  his  dio- 
cese. At  St.  Mary's  Church,  Philadelphia,  he  found  a  priest  who 
had  been  received  during  the  vacancy  of  the  see.  This  clergy- 
man's credentials  were  not  satisfactory  to  Bishop  Conwell,  but 
his  attempt  to  remove  him  was  resisted  by  the  trustees  of  the 
church,  who  opposed  the  bishop  even  after  the  unfortunate  priest 
had  apostatized.  Philadelphia  became  rent  with  a  schism  that 
was  fatal  to  religion  and  caused  many  to  lose  the  faith.  After 
years  of  strife  Dr.  Conwell  relinquished  the  control  of  the  dio- 
cese to  the  Veiy  Rev.  William  Matthews,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed administrator,  and  proceeded  to  Rome,  to  which  city  he 
had  been  summoned  in  1827.  He  was  urged,  for  his  own  peace 
and  that  of  the  diocese,  to  resign  the  see,  but  declined  and  re- 
turned to  Philadelphia.  When  the  First  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore  met  in  1829  Bishop  Conwell  attended,  but  took  no 
active  part.  By  the  judgment  of  that  body  a  coadjutor  was  re- 
commended, and  the  Holy  See  appointed  Right  Rev.  Francis 
Patrick  Kenrick,  who  assumed  the  administration.  Bishop  Con- 
well gradually  lost  his  sight,  and  was  thus  prevented  from  per- 
forming any  episcopal  duty.  His  life  was  prolonged,  however, 
for  many  years,  and  he  died  at  St.  Joseph's  Church,  April  22, 
1842,  at  the  age  of  ninety -four. 


DIOOIBB  09  PHITtAMLPHU. 


157 


BIGHT  REV.  JOHN   NEPOMUCENE  NEUMANN, 

JFowth  Bishop  of  Philadelphia. 

John  Nepohuoenb  Nsumaitn  was  bom  in  Pracbatitz,  Bohemia, 
March  28,  1811,  his  father,  Philip,  a  native  of  Obernburg,  in 
Bavaria,  having  married  and  settled  there.  Trained  by  a  pious 
mother  in  devotion  to  Mary,  John  lost  none  of  his  fervor  in  his 
studies  there  and  at  Budweis.  A  solid  rather  than  a  brilliant 
scholar,  he  entered  the  seminary  at  Budweis  and  completed  his 
course  at  Prague.  Resolved  to  devote  himself  to  the  American 
mission,  he  left  his  home  in  February,  1836,  to  offer  his  services 
to  the  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  little  dreaming  that  he  was  him- 
self to  die  in  that  office.  Circumstances,  however,  led  him  to 
New  York.  Having  been  received  by  Bishop  Du  Bois,  he  was 
ordained  in  New  York  and  sent  to  Williamsville,  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State.  A  parish  of  fifty  miles  here  devolved  on  him, 
but  he  discharged  his  duties  with  scrupulous  fidelity.  He  had 
long  yearned  to  enter  the  religious  state,  and  at  last,  with  the 
consent  of  Bishop  Hughes,  joined  the  Redemptorists  in  1840.  In 
Baltimore,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Rochester  his  labors 
bore  fruit.  He  became  superior  at  Pittsburgh,  and  in  1846  pro- 
vincial of  his  order.  On  the  promotion  of  Bishop  Kenrick  to 
the  see  of  Baltimore  Father  Neumann  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Philadelphia,  peremptory  orders  requiiing  him  to  accept  t^^s 
bulls.  He  was  consecrated  on  Passion  Sunday,  1852,  by  Arcl» 
bishop  Kenrick.  The  diocese  of  Philadelphia  had,  under  the  able 
rale  of  his  predecessor,  attained  great  prosperity.  Althoug>5  the 
western  part  had  been  assigned  to  the  new  see  of  Pittsburgh,  the 
diocese  of  Philadelphia  contained  more  than  a  hundred  churches 
and  priests.  Bishop  Neumann  made  visitations,  encouraged  the 
erection  of  churches,  stimulated  the  establishment  of  parochial 
schools.  He  held  synods  to  give  his  clergy  strength,  renewing 
the  constitutions  already  in  force.  In  the  councils  of  Baltimore 
in  1852  and  1855  Dr.  Neumann  edified  his  brethren  in  the  epis 
copate  by  his  learning  and  sound,  practical  experience.  After 
visiting  Rome  at  the  time  of  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the 


■•<rM[ii«ii  f'*iifc,ii 


168 


THB  GATHOLIO  HIBRABOHT  IN  THIS  UNITED  STATES. 


Immaculate  Conception  he  asked  to  resign  his  see  and  return 
to  the  religious  life,  which  was  his  choice.  The  Rev.  James  F. 
Wood  was  appointed  coadjutor,  and  Bishop  Neumann,  submitting 
to  the  will  of  the  Pope,  retained  his  see.  He  set  out  to  attend 
some  business  on  the  5th  of  January,  1860,  but  was  struck  down 
in  the  street;  he  sat  down  on  the  nearest  steps  and  expired.  His 
native  city  ei'ected  a  statue  of  him,  the  inscription  styling  him 
a  "  Servant  of  Mary."  His  virtues  were  of  so  eirtraordinary  cha- 
racter that  he  was  invoked  by  many  after  his  death,  and  in  1884 
steps  were  taken  to  introduce  the  process  of  his  canonization. 


MOST  REV.  JAMES  FREDERIC  WOOD, 

Fifth  Bishop   and  first  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia, 

James  Fbsdebic  Wood  was  bom  in  Philadelphia,  April  27, 
1813,  of  a  family  which  had  adopted  the  belief  of  the  Unitarians. 
His  parents  came  from  England  -n  1809,  and,  after  he  had  ac- 
quired the  rudiments  in  Philadelphia,  sent  him,  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  to  che  school  of  St.  Mary  de  Crypt  in  Gloucester,  where 
he  remained  five  years,  completing  his  education  in  Philadelphia. 
In  November,  1827,  he  became  clerk  in  the  United  States  Branch 
Bank  in  Cincinnati,  and  rose  to  important  positions.  In  1883  he 
entered  the  Franklin  Bank  m  that  city,  of  which,  three  years 
subsequently,  he  became  cashier.  During  thie  period  his  mind 
turned  to  more  serious  things  than  finance.  The  truth  of  the 
Catholic  doctrines  became  clear  to  him,  and  he  was  baptized  by 
Archbishop  Purcell,  April  7, 1836.  In  September  of  the  ensuing 
year  he  resigned  his  position  and  entered  the  College  of  the 
Propaganda  at  Rome  as  a  student.  After  seven  yeai's  of  serious 
study  he  was  ordained,  March  25,  1844,  by  Cardinal  Fransoni, 
Prefect  of  the  Propaganda.  On  his  return  to  Cincinnati  in  Oc 
tober  he  was  appointed  assistant  at  the  cathedral,  and  for  nearly 
^ten  years  was  a  Uborioup  priest  in  that  capacil^.    He  was  then 


> 


w- 


PIOOBSB  OF  PHILADBLPHIA. 


159 


pastor  of  St.  Patriok*6  till  he  was  selected  as  coadjutor  to  Bishop 
h'eumann,  of  Philadelphia.  On  the  26th  of  April,  1867,  he  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Purcell  Bishop  of  Antigona.  The 
financial  affairs  of  the  Philadelphia  diocese  were  soon  reduced  to 
order  by  him,  and  the  great  works  of  the  diocese  placed  on  a 
safe  footing  for  their  speedy  completion.  By  the  death  of  Bishop 
Neumann  in  January,  1860,  Bishop  Wood  succeeded  to  the  see 
and  to  the  whole  burden  of  the  episcopate.  He  completed  the 
cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  which  was  dedicated,  No- 
vember  20,  1864,  with  great  solemnity,  a  medal  struck  to  com- 
memorate the  event  being  the  only  fine  numismatic  work  of  art 
the  Church  has  given  in  this  country.  To  meet  the  wants  of  edu- 
cational and  charitable  institutions  he  introduced  the  Sisters  of 
the  Good  Shepherd,  Servants  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary, 
fciisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  the  Little  Sisters  of 
the  Poor,  and  developed  the  work  of  the  Sfisters  of  the  Holy 
Child  Jesus.  He  established  a  Catholic  Home  for  Destitute 
Orphan  Gills  and  enlarged  St.  Vincent's  Orphan  Asylum. 

In  1862  he  attended  the  canonization  of  the  Japanese  Martyrs 
in  Rome,  and  in  1867  the  centenary  of  St.  Peter.  He  was  present 
at  the  opening  of  the  Vatican  Council,  and  took  part  in  its  sessions 
till  a  severe  illness  compelled  him  to  return  home ;  he  left  his 
recorded  vote  in  favor  of  a  distinct  declaration  of  the  infallibility 
of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  when  defining  eoc  cathedra.  In  1868  the 
diocese  of  Philadelphia  was  reduced  by  the  erection  of  the  dio- 
ceses of  Harrisburg,  Scranton,  and  Wilmington.  On  the  15th  of 
February,  1875,  Dr.  Wood  was  made  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia, 
and  a  new  ecclesiastical  province  was  formed,  the  Bishops  of 
Pittsburg,  Harrisburg,  Scranton,  and  Wilmington  being  his  suf- 
fragans; Allegheny,  which  received  a  bishop  in  1876,  being  then 
added.  After  taking  part  in  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  he  celebrated  in  1862  the  silver  jubilee  of  his  episco- 
cal  consecration.  One  of  the  great  acts  of  his  later  life  was  the 
erection  of  the  fine  seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo  at  Over- 
brook,  formally  opened  September  16,  187il. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1883  the  aged  archbishop  was 
attacked  with  that  fatal  malady,  Bright's  disease  of  the  kidneys. 
And  in  June  the  case  became  critical.    He  at  once  appointed 


ISO 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Vicar-Geneml  Walsh  adminiBtrator,  and,  making  a  solemn  pro- 
fession of  faith  in  the  presence  of  his  physicians  and  members  of 
the  clergy,  moving  all  to  tears,  he  received  the  last  sacraments  and 
prepared  to  meet  his  end.  He  e2q)ired  on  the  20th  of  June, 
shoi-tly  aftet  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  JOHN  RYAN, 

SeG(md  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia. 

The  Most  Rev.  Patrick  John  Ryan  was  bom  in  Thurles, 
in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  Ireland,  in  1831,  of  a  pious  and 
worthy  family  of  farmers.  He  lost  his  father,  Jeremiah,  at  an 
early  age,  but  his  mother  placed  him  at  the  school  of  the  Chris- 
tian Brothers  in  Thurles,  where  he  studied  diligently.  Showing 
a  decided  vocation  for  the  priesthood,  he  was  sent  to  a  classical 
school  in  Dublin,  where  his  talents  and  industry  soon  attracted 
attention,  and  he  was  selected  to  read  the  address  of  the  school 
to  Daniel  O'Connell,  then  in  prison.  Young  Ryan  entered  Car- 
low  College  to  study  for  the  priesthood  as  an  ecclesiastic  of 
the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  to  which  he  had  offered  himself.  In  hi& 
course  of  philosophy,  theology,  aiid  canon  law  he  showed  more 
than  ordinary  abilities,  and  essays  which  he  contributed  to  peri- 
odicals attested  his  talent  in  presenting  the  knowledge  he  had 
acquired  in  an  attractive  form.  Having  received  deacon's  orders, 
he  came  to  St.  Louis  in  1852,  not  having  yet  attained  the  age 
requisite  for  the  priesthood.  After  a  short  g  tay  in  the  seminary 
at  Carondelet  he  was  ordained  by  the  archbishop  in  1853  and 
stationed  at  the  old  cathedral.  He  was  made  pastor  of  the 
church  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  vicar-general  of  the  diocese 
some  years  later.  Accompanying  the  archbishop  to  Rome  in  1868, 
he  preached  the  Lenten  sermons  in  that  city,  winning  the  highest 
admiration  for  his  learning  and  eloquence.  When  the  venerp-ble 
archbishop  sought  a  coadjutor  the  Very  Rev.  P.  J.  Ryan  was 
elected  Bishop  of  Tricoraia,  February  15,  1872,  and  was  cons^- 


1.   »-;<iV'-ifs,,^-^ 


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Most  Rev,  Patrick  John  Ryan,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


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DIOOESB  OF  PHILADBLPHLL 


161 


%  1 


orated  on  the  14tli  of  April.  After  discharging  for  twelve 
years  mach  of  the  diocesan  work  at  St.  Louis,  and  earning  the 
reput  ion  of  a  most  eloquent  and  able  bishop,  he  was,  in  1884, 
transferred  to  the  see  of  Philadelphia.  His  reception  in  that  city 
was  an  ovation  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  this 
country.  He  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore 
in  November,  1884,  preaching  with  hip  wonted  eloquence  the 
opening  sermon  on  "  The  Church  in  her  Councila" 

This  archdiocese,  in  1891,  shows  the  following  significant  sta- 
tistics: 317  priests  and  151  ecclesiastical  students,  155  churches, 
94  chapels  and  stations,  3  seminaries  and  3  colleges,  30  academies 
and  77  parochial  schools,  27,432  pupils,  and  aCathoKc  population 
of  400,000  souls. 


■ill  -y.     ■  - 


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jpfpiiip^dw^,*,  ai^i 


DIOCESE  OF  15T.  LOUIS. 


o^ 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  R03ATI, 

Mrst  Bishop  of  8t»  Zouia. 

Joseph  Rosati  was  born  at  Sora,  in  Italy,  January  80,  1789, 
a  respectable  and  pious  taTnily.  After  his  stu«lies  he  entered 
the  novitiate  of  the  Priests  of  the  Missior.  at  Rome,  and  made  his 
theological  course  at  Monte  Citorio  under  the  apostolic  Father 
de  Andiois,  and  after  his  ordination  was  fiiquentiy  his  com- 
panion. When  Bishop  Du  Boui^  vjsi  .ed  Home  in  1816  to  ob- 
tain priests  iov  th*?  diocese  of  Louisiana,  Father  de  Andreis  was 
selected  as  one  of  t)ie  missionaries.  He  at  once  wrote  to  Father 
Rosati,  asking  him  to  join  them  if  Le  wished.  Father  Rosati  at 
once  resolved  to  go ;  hv  made  the  jouraey  to  Toulouse,  and,  ac- 
companying Father  de  Andreis  thence  to  Bordeaux,  embarked 
June  12,  1816.  They  reached  Baltimore  after  a  voyage  of  six 
weeks,  and  proceeded  to  Barti  ttown,  where  they  set  to  work  to 
learn  English.  Father  Rosati  the  next  year  began  his  labors  by 
a  mission  at  Vincennes,  and  then  proceeded  to  St.  Louis.  When 
the  first  log  seminary  of  the  Lazarists  was  established  at  the 
Barrens,  Father  Rosati  was  made  superior,  manfully  meeting  all 
tb3  poverty  and  hardships  incident  to  a  new  institution  on  the 
frontier.  In  1820  he  became  superior  of  the  Lazarists  in  this 
country,  and  three  years  afterwards  opened  a  college,  never  ceas- 
ing constant  missionary  work  amid  all  his  other  responsibilities. 
With  the  increasing  community  under  his  direction,  Dr.  Rosati 
did  much  to  give  Catholicity  order  and  life  in  Missouri.  Bishop 
Du  Bourg,  seeking  a  division  of  his  diocese,  proposed  Father 
Rosati  aS  vicar-apostolic  of  Florida;  but  the  Lazarist  declined 
the  appointment,  preferring  to  remain  at  his  post  in  Missouri. 

In  1823  he  was  appointed  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Du  Bourg,  and  it 

m 


'  '•■■f 


DIOOBSB  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 


168 


was  ordained  that  in  1826  a  see  should  be  established  at  New 
Orleans  and  another  at  St.  Louis,  Bishop  Du  Bourg  to  select 
which  he  preferred,  the  other  to  be  filled  by  his  coadjutor.  Fa- 
ther Eosati  was  accordingly  consecrated  Bishop  of  Tenagra  on 
tui,  25tlt  of  Mprch,  1824,  but  continued  to  reside  in  Missouri.  On 
the  roeif  lation  >f  Bishop  Du  Bourg  he  administered  the  diocese 
till  he  was  made  first  Bishop  of  St.  Louis  in  1827,  and  a  new 
bishop  was  consecrated  for  New  Orleans.  Able  at  last  to  devote 
himself  to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  he  aided  the  Jesuit  Fathers  in 
their  good  work  and  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  introduced 
the  Sisteiis  of  Joseph,  Visitation  Nuns,  and  Sisters  of  Charity, 
thus  «;<'iowing  Missouri  .with  communities  for  education  and 
works  of  mercy.  He  began  a  cathedral,  and  by  his  energy  soon 
had  a  large  and  elegant  edifice,  which  was  dedicated  with  great 
pomp  in  October,  1834,  five  bishops  taking  part  in  the  ceremony. 
Bishop  Rosati  held  a  synod  of  his  clergy  in  1839,  adopting  wise 
statutes.  Though  not  in  the  province  of  Baltimore,  he  took  pai*t 
in  the  first  four  Provincial  Councils  held  in  that  city.  After  the 
close  of  the  fourth  council,  in  1840,  he  visited  Rome,  and  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  ihen  confided  to  him  a  mission  to  the  republic 
of  Hayti  to  arrange  for  the  re-establishment  of  episcopal  sees  in 
that  island.  Meanwhile  he  had  obtained  the  appointment  of  the 
Rev.  Peter  Richard  Kenrick  as  coadjutor,  and,  returning  to  the 
United  States,  consecrated  him  at  Philadelphia.  Bishop  Rosati 
then  proceeded  to  Hayti,  where  his  negotiations  were  most  suc- 
cessful, and  the  terms  of  a  concordat  were  agreed  upon,  which 
was  to  be  signed  at  Rome  by  a  Haytian  envoy.  After  confirm- 
ing a  great  niynber  in  Hayti  he  set  out  for  Rome  to  make  his  re- 
port to  Pope  Gregory  XVI.  He  was  seized  with  a  serious  illness 
in  the  Eternal  City,  but,  recovering,  set  out  for  his  diocese  by  the 
way  of  Paris.  There  his  disease  returned,  and  his  physicians 
counselled  a  return  to  Rome.  He  reached  it  only  to  die  on  the 
25th  of  September,  1843.  Bishop  Rosati  was  eminent  for  his 
holy  life,  his  zeal  as  a  priest,  his  successful  administration  as  a 
bishop,  his  learning,  his  eloquence.  He  built  up  the  diocese  from 
a  very  slender  beginning,  organized  the  Indian  missions,  and  ex- 
tended the  work  of  the  Church  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


-..  ...  ,,-.■.  •,.>.jf..j'3i^., 


j^jif fWUfewm Tf*'^ 4|,':  '"'•. 


164 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBBARCHT  IN  THB  UNITED  8TATB8L 


.  &5i. 


MOST  REV.  PETER  RICHARD  KENRICK, 

Seoond  Bishop  and  first  Ai'chhishop  of  St.  Louis. 

The  Most  Rev.  Peter  Richard  Kenrick,  a  younger  brother 
of  Francis  Patrick,  Bishop  of  Philadelphia  and  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore,  was  born  in  Dublin  August  17,  1806.  At  th^  close  of 
his  studies  the  piety  instilled  into  him  from  his  youth  l^d  him  to 
embrace  the  ecclesiastical  state.  He  entered  the  seminary  and 
was  ordained  priest.  ,  ^  ..      :     ii    ,/ 

Coming  to  the  United  States,  to  which  his  brother  had  been 
sent  from  Rome,  he  was  in  1833  received  into  the  diocese  of  Phil- 
adelphia and  became  assistant  at  the  cathedral,  and  in  1835  pas* 
tor.  His  learning  and  abilities  led  to  his  selection  as  superior  of 
the  diocesan  seminary,  in  which  he  filled  also  the  chair  of  dog- 
matic theology.  As  vicar-gen«ral  he  aided  greatly  in  reorganiz- 
ing the  diocese ;  become  thus  widely  known,  he  was  chosen  by 
Bishop  Brut6,  of  Vincennes,  as  his  theologian  at  the  Third  Pro- 
vincial Council  of  Baltimore.  When  Rev.  Father  Timon  de- 
clined the  appointment  of  coadjutor  of  St.  h  's.  Bishop  Rosati 
selected  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Kenrick,  "  whose  u^  -  :»lic  zeal,"  he 
declared,  "  had  been  so  conspicuous,  and  to  whose  merits  all  the 
prelates  of  the  American  Church  had  on  several  occasions  given 
honorable  testimony."  An  express  command  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  precluded  every  way  of  shrinking  from  the  dignity  to 
which  he  had  been  called.  Submitting  to  an  honor  he  had  not 
sought,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Drasa  by  Dr.  Rosati,  assist-. 
ed  by  Bishop  Francis  P.  Kenrick  and  Bishop  Lefevere,  in  St. 
Mary's  Church,  Philadelphia,  on  St.  Andrew's  day,  November  30, 
1841.  Bishop  Rosati  proceeded  to  Hayti,  to  which  he  had  been 
sent  by  the  Soly  See,  and  Bishop  Kenrick  repaired  to  St.  Louis 
to  assume  the  administration  of  the  diocese  during  his  absence. 
Bishop  Rosati  never  returned  to  Missouri ;  his  health  failed,  and 
he  died  at  Rome  September  26,  1843,  when  the  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
Kenrick  succeeded  to  the  see  of  St.  Louis.  From  his  arrival  in 
the  diocese  he  had  given  an  impulse  to  a;ll  good  works.  He  en- 
couraged the  building  of  churches,  and,  with  far-seeing  wisdom, 


Most  Rev.  Peter  R.  Kenrick.  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


1 1 


M 


..^1'.k 


DlOOSra  Of  ST.  LOUIS. 


lo7 


ereoted  some  where  not  a  hotise  was  to  be  seen,  but  where  thriv* 
ing  towns  soon  gathered.  He  gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church  which  attracted  general  attention,  and 
established  The  Catholic  Cabinet,  a  magazine  to  diffuse  reli- 
gious knowledge  among  his  flock.  The  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  when 
Dr.  Kenrick  reached  it,  embraced  the  States  of  Missouri,  Arkan- 
sas, half  of  Illinois,  and  the  Territories  now  constituting  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  and  Indian  Territoiy,  with  all  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. The  city  of  St.  Louis  had  six  churches  and  chapels,  a  theo- 
logical seminary,  a  university,  convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  two 
asylums,  four  free  schools,  and  16,000  Catholics  out  of  a  popula- 
tion of  30,000.  The  diocese  contained  65  churches  and  74  priests, 
and  had  several  Indian  missions.  The  erection  of  the  sees  of 
Little  Rock  in  1843,  Chicago  in  1844,  of  the  vicariates-apostolic 
of  Indian  Territoiy  and  of  Nebraska  in  1851,  of  St.  Joseph  in 
1868,  and  of  Kansas  City  in  1880,  have  in  his  time  reduced  his 
diocese  greatly,  so  that  in  1885  it  comprises  only  the  eastern  po^ 
tion  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 

Bishop  Kenrick  introduced  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian 
Schools,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  other  orders  to  aid  in 
education  or  works  of  mercy.  In  1847  Pope  Pius  IX.  made  St. 
Louis  an  archiepiscopal  see,  to  which  the  bishops  of  Dubuque, 
Nashville,  Chicago,  and  Milwaukee  were  assigned  as  suffragans. 
Archbishop  Kenrick  held  a  synod  of  his  diocese  in  1850,  and  in 
September,  1855,  convened  the  First  Provincial  Council  of  St. 
Louis,  which  was  attended  by  the  bish6ps  of  the  sees  already 
named,  and  of  those  of  Santa  F^  and  St.  Paul,  who  had  also  been 
made  suffragans,  and  by  the  vicar-apostolic  of  Indian  Territory. 
A  second  council  was  held  in  September,  1858.  Both  by  their 
wise  provisions  bear  testimony  to  the  zeal  and  prudence  of  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick.  During  the  civil  war  the  State  became  a  battle- 
field ;  the  citizens  were  divided  in  their  sympathies,  and  bitter 
feelings  prevailed.  The  archbishop,  with  his  clergy  and  reli- 
gious, was  unremitting  in  attending  all,  especially  the  sick  and 
wounded,  without  distinction;  but  Catholics  suffered  from  the 
petty  fanaticism  of  bigots  in  temporary  power.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  a  new  constitution,  carried  by  excluding  thousands  of 
citizens  from  the  polls,  forbade  any  bishop,  priest,  or  religious  to 
preach,  officiate,  or  teach,  unless  a  test  oath  of  a  stringent  charac- 


'M 


1U8 


THB  OATHOUO  HIBRAR0H7  IN  THB  UNITED  STATSa 


ter  as  to  men's  very  thoughts  was  first  taken.  Archbishop  Ken* 
rick,  in  a  circular,  directed  his  clergy  not  to  take  it,  and  several 
priests  and  Sisters  were  indicted  under  the  shameful  provision 
before  the  Supreme  Court  declared  its  nullity. 

Archbishop  Kenrick  took  an  active  pai*t  in  the  three  Plenary 
Councils  held  at  Baltimore,  and  at  the  Vatican  Council  was  one 
of  thdse  who  opposed  the  definition  of  the  infallibility  of  the 
Pope  as  unnecessary  and  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  Church. 
His  arguments  show  the  full  liberty  of  discussion  given  in  the 
(Ecumenical  Council,  and  his  prompt  acceptance  of  the  dogma 
when  defined  gave  his  character  new  lustre.  To  aid  him  in  the  , 
administration  of  his  diocese  he  obtained,  in  1857,  a  coadjutor  in 
the  person  of  the  Right  Rev.  James  Duggan,  who  became  Bishop 
of  Chicago  two  years  after,  and  at  a  later  period  in  the  person 
of  Patrick  John  Ryan,  who  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Tricomia, 
April  14, 1872.  Dr.  Ryan  was  the  eloquent  and  trusted  assistant 
of  the  venerable  archbishop  till  he  was  transferred  to  the  see  of 
Philadelphia  in  1884. 

In  1876  the  Catholics  of  St.  Louis  celebrated  the  centenary 
of  the  erection  of  the  firat  church  in  their  city. 

The  progress  of  the  diocese  under  the  care  of  Archbishop 
Kenrick  may  be  seen  in  its  condition  in  1891,  when  it  contained 
283  priests,  40  ecclesiastical  students,  233  churches  and  chapels. 
The  religious  orders  are  well  represented:  Lazarist  Fathers  di- 
rect the  theological  seminary  and  a  college ;  the  Jesuits  have  the 
university ;  the  Christian  Brothers  a  college ;  Redemptorists  and 
Franciscan  Fathers  labor  chiefly  among  the  Germans.  There  are 
academies  conducted  by  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Visita- 
tion Nuns,  Sisters  of  Loretto,  Ursulines,  and  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph ; 
Carmelite  Nuns  follow  their  contemplative  life;  Sisters  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  reclaim  the  fallen;  Sisters  of  Charity  and  of 
Mercy  minister  to  all  human  miseries  and  care  for  the  orphan ; 
the  Servants  of  the  Divine  Heart  attend  the  sick  at  their  homes. 
Tiiere  are  orphan  asylums ;  a  Protectorate  for  Boys ;  94  parochial 
schools,  with  20,000  pupils,  conducted  by  Christian  and  Francis- 
can Brothers,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame, 
St.  Joseph,  the  Precious  Blood,  Christian  Charity,  St.  Francis, 
Oblates  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  Loretto ;  and  the  total  population  of 
the  diocese  is  estimated  at  280,000. 


^ 


DIOCESE  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  GARCIA  DIEliO,  O.8.F., 

Bishop  of  the  Two  Calif  omias. 

When  California  was  reached  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  who 
founded  their  reductions  of  converted  Indians  in  the  lower  penin* 
Bula,  and  little  Spanish  settlements  grew  up  near  the  crosses  they 
planted,  jurisdiction  over  the  peninsula  was  claimed  by  different 
sees;  but  the  distance  and  difficulty  of  travel  prevented  any 
bishop  from  visiting  it.  Ultimately  the  superior  of  the  mission 
was  made  a  prefect-apostolic  by  the  Holy  See,  with  power  to  con- 
fer the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation.  A  similar  pow^r  was  con- 
ferred upon  the  venerable  Franciscan  Father  Juniper  Serra  when 
he  founded  the  missions  in  the  Upper  Province.  At  the  solici- 
tation of  the  Mexican  government  the  Two  Californias  were 
erected  into  a  diocese  by  Pope  Gregory  XVI  in  1840.  Father 
Francis  Garcia  Diego  y  Moreno,  the  first  bishop,  was  born  at 
Lagos,  in  the  State  of  Jalisco,  and  pursued  his  course  of  Latin, 
rhetoric,  and  philosophy  at  Guadalajara,  and  entered  the  order  of 
St.  Francis  in  the  Apostolical  College  at  Zacatecas.  Here  ho 
was  ordained  about  the  year  1824,  and  became  master  of  no- 
vices  and  vicar.  As  a  missionary  he  was  distinguished  for  his 
strict  observance  of  his  rule,  his  eloquence  and  zeal.  In  1832  he 
was  appointed  prefect  of  the  California  mission,  and  made  Santa 
Clara  his  abode.  The  grand  missions,  that  once  numbered  more 
than  thirty  thousand  Catholics,  were  sinking  under  the  Mexican 
misgovemment  which  had  robbed  -them  and*  turned  the  Indians 
adrift.  The  prefect  did  all  in  his  power  to  save  these  Catholic 
Indians  and  animate  them  to  persevere.  Even  the  Pi&us  Fund 
of  California  for  the  support  of  the  missions  was  seized  and  its 
income  withheld,  so  that  Fathers  died  of  actual  starvation.  Fa- 
ther Gai'cia  went  to  Mexico  to  endeavor  to  obtain  redress  for  all 

168 


tio 


HAE  OAtHOUO  mSRABOAY  tK  THB  tmiTllSD  STATStS. 


these  evils,  but  was  detained  at  Zacatecas  by  duties  conferred  on 
him  in  his  order.  Meanwhile  he  was  appointed  bishop,  and  ac* 
cepted  only  on  a  solemn  promise  from  the  Mexican  government 
that  the  income  of  the  Pious  Fund  should  be  restored,  and 
because  the  salary  promised  him  would  support  several.  miS' 
sionaries.  He  was  consecrated  bishop  October  4,  1840,  but  the 
preliminaries  to  his  taking  possession  of  his  diocese  were  pro* 
longed  so  that  he  did  not  reach  San  Diego,  which  was  named  in 
thf")  bull  as  his  residence,  till  December,  1841.  He  found  the 
desolation  complete,  most  of  the  missions  in  ruins  and  abandoned, 
the  fertile  mission  lands  and  vineyards,  with  the  herds  of  cattle, 
seized,  the  Indians  reduced  to  about  four  thousand  and  utterly 
destitute.  Obtaining  all  the  aid  he  could,  the  good  bishop 
traversed  the  province,  endeavoring  to  save  his  flock.  He  began 
a  seminary  at  Santa  Ynez,  having  obtained  at  last  a  grant  of 
thirty-five  thou£.?nd  acres.  As  San  Diego  was  in  ruins,  he  took 
up  his  residence  at  Santa  Barbara.  He  was  not,  however,  per- 
mitted by  Providence  long  to  survive  ;  his  health  failed  in  1845, 
and  on  the  night  of  April  13  in  the  ensuing  year  he  died  piously 
amid  his  faithful  missionaries.  His  remains  were  inferred  in  the 
church  at  Santa  Barbara. 


MOST  REV.  JOSEPH  SADOC   ALEMANY,  O.S.D., 

Mrst  Bishop  of  Monterey  cmd  First  Archbishop  of  San  Frcmdsoo^ 

Joseph  Sadoo  Alemaitt  was  bom  in  1814  in  Vich,  a  city  in 
the  province  of  Catalonia  which  has  sent  many  zealo  as  mission- 
aries to  America.  After  making  his  primary  studies  young  Ale- 
many  entered  the  Dqpiinican  Order  at  the  age  of  fifteen.^  Upon 
completing  his  theological  course  at  a  very  early  age  he  was 
ordained  at  Viterbo  in  1887  by  Bishop,  afterwards  Cardinal, 
Pianetto.  The  young  priest  was  then  made  sub-master  of  novi- 
ces at  Viterbo,  and,  having  >een  summoned  to  Rome,  was  an 
assistant  to  the  rector  of  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  sopra  Mi- 
nerva till  the  year  1841,  when  he  solicited  the  American  mis- 


DIOCBSB  OF  SAN  FBAKOlSCO. 


in 


rioB.  Soon  after  reaching  St.  Joseph's  Convent  in  Ohio  Father 
Alemany  was  sent  to  Tennessee  at  the  request  of  Bishop  Miles, 
and  began  his  missionary  career  in  Nashville,  but  was  soon  as- 
sistant at  Memphis,  aiding  to  erect  ihe  first  Catholic  church  in 
that  city.  He  remained  in  this  severe  mission,  attending  the  few 
Catholics  scattered  over  a  large  district,  till  1847,  when  he  was 
elected  provincial  and  returned  to  Ohio.  Having  gone  to  Rome 
in  1850  to  attend  a  General  Chapter  of  the  order,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Bishop  of  Monterey,  the  Kev.  Mr.  Montgomery  having 
declined  the  nomination.  He  was  consecrated  by  Cardinal  Fran- 
zoni  in  the  church  of  San  Carlo,  June  13,  1850,  and  set  out  for 
his  diocese,  taking  with  him  Father  Vilarrasa  to  found  a  con- 
vent of  Friar  Preachers,  and  Mother  Mary  Goemare  to  establish 
one  of  Dominican  Nuns.  A  new  population  of  American  and 
other  English-speaking  people  had  by  this  time  flocked  into  Ca- 
lifornia, including  many  Catholics,  so  that  Bishop  Alemany  had 
.to  provide  priests  for  Spanish,  English,  and  Indian  tortgues. 
The  new  population  was  in  the  more  northerly  districts,  Sail 
Francisco  growiag  rapidly  to  be  a  great  city.  Bishop  Alemany 
had  few  priests,  few  churches,  no  institutions  for  charity  or  edu- 
cation. The  abundant  provision  which  the  Spanish  monarchs 
and  pious  Catholics  in  their  day  had  made  for  the  maintenance 
of  religion  Was  gone.  The  year  before  his  consecration  .*.  little 
wooden  shanty  had  been  reared  as  the  ifirst  Catholic  church  in 
San  Francisco.  The  year  of  his  arrival  the  two  priests  there 
had  to  cope  with  the  cholera,  and  the  priest  at  Sacrament^i,  Fa- 
ther Anderson,  a  native  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  and  a  convei*t,  died 
while  attending  the  sick.  In  1852  the  bishop  attended  tne  Fii-st 
Plenary  Council,  and  exerted  himself  tO  procure  priests  and  re- 
ligious, and  succeeded  to  some  extent,  obtaining  several  Skters  of 
Charity  from  Emmittsburg,  two  of  whom  died  on  the  way.  The 
others  courageously  went  on,  and  soon  opened  an  asylum  for  the 
many  orphans. 

Ihe  extent  of  California  and  the  diversity  of  populati<»n 
called  for  a  division  of  the  diocese  of  Monterey.  In  July,  1853, 
San  Francisco  was  erected  into  an  archiepiscopal  see,  to  which 
Dr.  Alemany  was  transferred,  and  Bishop  Amat.  succeeded  him 
at  Monterey.    The  archbishop  then  devoted  him  wholly  to  the 


^ 


si 


s  s 


■   '' 


172 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


wants  of  the  increasing  flock.  Presentation  Nuns  and  Sisters 
of  Mercy  came ;  a  diocesan  seminary  was  begun  under  Rev.  Dr. 
Eugene  O'Connell ;  the  cathedral  was  completed  and  dedicated. 
As  cities  and  towns  grew  up  a  new  division  of  the  diocese  be- 
came necessary,  and  in  1860  the  Holy  See  set  off  the  northwest- 
ern portion  of  the  diocese  as  the  vicariate-apostolic  of  Marys- 
ville,  and  the  northeastern  as  that  of  Colorado.  By  this  time 
the  Jesuit  Fathers  who  had  entered  the  diocese  had  founded 
their  college  at  Santa  Clara;  academies  and  parochial  schools 
were  increasing  in  number  and  efficiency.  Reduced  as  the  dio- 
cese has  been,  the  15  pnests  and  24  churches  of  California  in 
1850  have  developed,  in  the  diocese  of  San  Francisco  alone,  in 
1884  to  128  churches  and  175  priests,  with  a  seminary,  6  col- 
leges, 18  academies,  and  200,000  Catholics;  with  Jesuits,  Domi- 
nicans, Marists,  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  Presentation, 
Ursuline,  and  Dominican  Nuns,  Sistei*s  of  Charity,  of  Mercy,  of 
Notre  Dame,  of  the  Holy  Names. 

Archbishop  Alemany  was  one  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  and  delivered  a  Latin  sermon  to 
the  clergy  on  the  virtues  that  should  adorn  the  priesthood. 
Soon  after  its  close  he  resigned  his  see  and  returned  to  Spain, 
dying  at  Valencia  in  1888. 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  W.  RIORDAN, 


Second  Archhishop  of  San  FraTiciaco. 

Patrick  William  Rioedan  was  born  August  27,  1841,  and 
was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Chicago  in  his  seventh  year.  He 
made  his  studies  at  the  university  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake, 
and,  feeling  himself  called  to  the  ecclesitcstical  state,  asked  to 
Tbe  received  sa  a  seminarian.  His  talents  led  to  his  ^eing  sent 
to  the;  American  College  at  Rome,  but,  having  suffered  greatly 
from  tjoiaUria,  he  left  Rome  and  completed  his  course  in  Paris 


-'  •§h7Fi''»-r 


Most  Rev.  i'ATRicK  W.  Riordan,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  San  Francisco,  Cal. 


! } 


^^i: 


DI008BB  OF  SAN  FRANCI800. 


173 


and  Louvain.  He  was  ordained  in  Belgium  in  1865  by  Gardi* 
nal  Sterckz,  and  after  his  return  to  the  United  States  was  ap 
pointed  in  1866  professor  of  ecclesiastical  hirtory  and  canon  law 
in  the  theological  seminary  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake  at  Ch^*- 
cago ;  the  next  year  he  filled  the  chair  of  Aogmatic  theology. 
From  1868  to  1871  he  was  in  the  active  discharge  of  mission* 
ary  duties  at  Joliet,  after  which  he  was  appointed  rector  of  St. 
James'  Church  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  Here  he  gave  all  his 
energy  to  the  spiritual  good  of  his  people,  upholding  and  ex- 
tending the  parochial  schools  under  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  His 
abilities  and  zeal  marked  him  as  one  destined  to  render  great 
services  to  the  Church. 

While  pastor  of  St.  James'  Church  in  1883  he  received  the 
notification  of  his  appointment  as  titular  Bishop  of  Cabasa, 
and  coadjutor,  with  the  right  of  succession,  to  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  Alemany,  of  San  Francisco.  He  wae  consecrated 
in  St.  James'  on  Sunday,  September  16,  1883,  by  Archbishop 
Feehan.  Bishop  Riordan  reached  San  Francisco  on  the  6th  of 
November,  and  was  received  by  a  delegation,  who  conveyed  him 
to  the  residence  of  the  archbishop. 

Archbishop  Riordan  at  once,  by  visitations  and  otherwise, 
relieved  Archbishop  Alemany  o.'^  many  of  the  heavier  burdens 
of  the  episcopate,  and  took  par:  with  Archbishop  Alemany  in 
the  great  Plenary  Council  of  1834.  By  the  resignation  of  that 
venerable  prelate  he  became  the  seccn«l  archbishop  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

At  the  present  time  (1891)  this  archdiocese  contains  180 
priests  and  ?5  seminariaA^g',  65  churches,  91  chapels  and  stations, 
8  colleges,  and  19  academies;  60  parochial  schools,  with  15,000 
pupils;  5  orphanages,  3  hospitals  and  2  asylums,  in  a  Catholic 
population  of  about  220,000.  .  .. 


DIOCESE  OF  SANTA  Fi 


m 


Ell .  ■ 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  B.  LAMY, 

Mrat  Bishop  and  Mrst  Archbishop  of  Scmta  FL 

John  Baptist  Lamy  wa';  Horn  in  1814  in  Auvergne,  France, 
and  came,  after  his  ordinatl<  n,  to  the  United  States  to  give  his 
services  to  the  cause  of  rr'ijHon.  In  1839  he  was  stationed  at 
Sapp's  Settlement,  Oiiiw  i^Ii^rwai'ds  called  Danville,  where  he 
erected  a  fine  church  kdiVated  to  St.  Luke;  the  next  year  he 
was  attending  also  Mount  Vernon  and  a  German  settlement  at 
Newark,  obtaining  sites  lor  churches,  and  in  the  former  had 
already  begun  a  large  and  handsome  edifice,  which  he  completed 
only  to  see  it  destroyed  by  fire ;  but  he  set  to  work  to  rebuild  it, 
extending  his  missions  to  Millersburgh,  in  Licking  County.  In 
this  field  he  labored  till  about  1848,  when  he  was  appointed 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Covington,  Ky.,  then  in  the  diocese 
of  Cincinnati.  When  the  province  of  New  Mexico  was  acquired 
by  the  United  States  religion  had  greatly  declined  among  its  in- 
habitants. No  bishop  had  visited  New  Mexico  for  eighty  years ; 
the  Franciscans  who  had  ministered  for  centuries  to  the  Spaniards 
and  Indians  had  been  removed ;  schools  had  ceased.  The  Holy 
See,  to  remedy  the  evils,  formed  the  territoiy  into  a  vicariate- 
apostolic,  and  the  Rev.  John  Baptist  Lamy  was  c oasecrated 
Bishop  of  Agathonica,  November  24,  1850.  The  territory  cor 
tained  sixty  thousand  whites  and  eight  thousand  Indians,  with 
twenty-five  churches  and  forty  chapels.  Bishop  Lamy  endeavored 
to  obtain  exemplary  priests  to  revive  the  faith  of  the  neglected 
flock.  Sisters  of  Loretto  opened  an  academy  with  the  commence- 
ment of  the  year  1853,  On  the  29th  of  July  in  that  year  the 
see  of  Santa  F^  was  erected,  and  Dr.  Lamy  was  elected  the  first 
bishop.  He  visited  Europe  to  obcain  aid,  and  returned  with  four 
priesls,  a  deacon,  and  two  subdeacons.    He  soon  after  obtained 

174 


DIOOBSB  OF  SANTA  Ft. 


177 


Brothers  of  the  Christian  Doctrine,  who  in  time  founded  a  col- 
lege; Sisters  of  Charity  for  hospitals  and  asylums ;  and  in  1867 
Jesuit  Fathers,  who  opened  a  college  at  Las  Vegas  and  estab* 
lished  a  Catholic  journal.  In  1875  the  see  was  made  archiepis- 
copal,  with  Dr.  Lamy  as  archbishop.  In  1885  the  diocese  con- 
tained 34  parish  churches,  203  chapels  regularly  attended,  66 
priests,  with  111,000  Catholics  of  Sp?Lish  origin,  3,000  English- 
speaking  Catholics,  and  12,000  Pueblo  Indians.  One  of  Arch- 
bishop Lamy's  great  labora  has  been  to  defeat  the  government 
in  its  proselytizing  schemes  which  aimed  at  converting  the  Catho- 
lic Pueblo  Indians  to  Protestantism.  He  resigned  the  See  July 
18, 1885,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Most  Hev.  John  B.  Salpointe, 
on  the  same  date.  Archbishop  Lamy  died  February  13,  1888, 
after  a  life  of  useful  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  Church  in  his 
archdiocese. 


Ti 


178  THE  OATHOLIO  H2BBAB0HT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

^  MOST  REV.  JOHN  B.  8ALP0INTE, 

Second  Archbishop  of  Santa  Fk   n        - 

John  B.  Salpointe  waa  born  in  France  on  the  2  2d  of  Feb- 
ruaiy,  1825,  and  made  his  classical  studies  in  the  preparatory 
seminary  of  Agen  in  the  Department  of  Creuse,  and  of  Clermont 
in  that  of  Puy  de  D6me.  After  passing  through  a  thorough 
theological  course  at  the  seminary  of  Clermont  Ferrand  he  was 
ordained  priest  December  21,  1851.  He  spent  three  years  in  the 
parochial  exercise  of  the  sacred  minlstiy,  and  five  more  as  teacher 
in  the  preparatory  seminary  of  Clermont.  He  left  his  native 
land  to  devote  himself  to  the  missions  of  New  Mexico,  on  the  4th 
of  August,  1859,  and  was  sent  to  Arizona  as  vicar-general  by  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  Lamy  in  1866.  Arizona  was  made  a  vicariate-apos- 
tolic  in  1869,  and  Veiy  Rev.  Dr.  Salpointe,  having  been  appointed 
Bishop  of  Doryla,  on  the  25th  of  September,  1868,  was  conse- 
crated at  Clermont,  France,  June  20,  1869.  The  vicariate  com- 
prised Arizona,  the  southern  paii;  of  New  Mexico,  known  as  the 
Mesilla  valley,  and  the  county  of  LI  Paso  in  Texas.  There  were 
churches  at  Tucson  and  St.  Xavier  del  Bac,  and  Las  Cruces, 
which  had  priests,  as  had  the  chapel  of  San  Agustin.  Churches 
were  needed  for  the  new  population,  and  these  soon  rose  at 
Colorado  City  and  other  points.  Bishop  Salpointe  labored  to 
save  his  Spanish  and  Indian  flock  from  perversion,  the  United 
States  government  having  assigned  the  Catholic  Indians  to  Pro- 
testant sects  in  order  to  debauch  their  faith.  The  vicar-apostolic 
introduced  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  who  established  schools  and 
hospitals;  Sisters  of  Mercy  and  of  Loretto  to  open  academies. 
At  the  commencement  of  1884  he  had  sixteen  priests,  eighteen 
churches  built  and  iive  more  going  up,  fifteen  chapels,  six  paro- 
chial schools,  a  white  Catholic  population  of  thirty  thousand, 
and  one  thousand  Catholic  Indians.  On  the  8th  of  June,  1884, 
Pope  Leo  XIII.  transferred  Bishop  Salpointe  to  Santa  F6,  and 
made  him  coadjutor  to  Archbishop  Lamy,  whom  he  succeeded, 
July  18,  1885. 


le  22d  of  Feb 
le  preparatory 
id  of  Clermont 
gh  a  thorough 
errand  he  was 
■ee  years  in  the 
nore  as  teacher 
left  his  native 
cico,  on  the  4th 
meral  by  Right 
I  vicariate-apos- 
been  appointed 
!68,  was  conse- 
vicariate  corn- 
known  as  the 
There  were 
d  Las  Cruces, 
tin.     Churches 
soon  rose  at 
ite  labored  to 
)n,  the  United 
ndians  to  Pro- 
vicar-apostolic 
schools  and 
)en  academies, 
iests,  eighteen 
pels,  six  paro- 
irty  thousand, 
3f  June,  1884, 
anta  F^,  and 
be  succeeded, 


M 


Most  Rev.  John  B.  Salpointe,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  Santa  Fe,  N.  M. 


.^;v 


.  Jto    .  ,,3.    «  i- 


DIOCESE  OF  ALBANY. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  CONROY, 

Second  Bishop  of  Albany. 

John  Joseph  Conbot  was  born  in  Clonaslee,  Queen 
Ireland,  about  the  year  1829,  and  came  to  this  country  a 

of  twelve.  He  received  his  earlier  training  in  New  York  City, 
wheie  his  uncle  was  for  many  years  a  zealous  priest.  His  clas- 
sical studies  he  pursued  under  the  Sulpitians  at  Montreal ;  his 
higher  course  and  theology  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Joseph's 
Seminary,  Fordham.  His  ability  was  such  that  he  was  made  a 
professor  before  his  graduation.  He  was  ordained  priest  June 
,  1842,  and  was  made  vice-president  of  St.  John's  College  at 
Fordham  in  the  following  year,  and  subsequently  president  of 
that  institution.  In  March,  1844,  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  old 
St.  Joseph's.  Church,  Albany,  and  held  that  position  till  he  was 
raised  to  the  episcopate.  During  his  rectorship  he  rebuilt  the 
church,  introduced  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  founded  St.  Vin- 
cent's Orphan  Asylum.  His  abilities  and  zeal  made  the  parish 
prosper,  and  he  was  in  time  made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese 
about  the  year  1857,  and  during  the  absence  of  the  bishop  he 
acted  as  administrator.  When  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  McCloskey 
was  promoted  to  the  see  of  New  York,  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Conrcy 
administered  the  diocese  of  Albany  till  July  7, 1865,  when  he 
was  appointed  bishop,  receiving  episcopal  consecration  October 
15  in  the  same  year. 

Bishop  Conroy  governed  the  diocese  for  several  years, 
churches,  priests,  and  institutions  of  all  kinds  increasing.  Among 
these  may  be  noted  the  establishment  of  an  Industrial  School, 
St.  Peter's  Hospital,  St.  Agnes'  Rural  Cemetery,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor.  He  attended  the  First 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian,  and  sat  in  the  second 

179 


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THS  CATHOLIO  BUBSABOHT  IK  TEB  UNITB!>  8TATIB. 


as  bishop  of  Alba^.  He  visited  Rome  on  the  occasion  of  the 
centenary  of  St.  Peter,  and  took  part  in  the  sessions  of  the 
Ck>uncil  of  the  Vatican.  In  August,  1869,  he  held  a  diocesan 
synod  in  which  salutary  regulations  were  adopted.  But  in  1872 
infirmities  made  it  a  matter  of  prudence  for  Bishop  Cohroy  to 
secure  a  coadjutor.  After  the  appointment  of  Bishop  McNeimy, 
Dr.  Gonroy  continued  as  far  as  possible  to  direct  the,  diocese  till 
January,  1874,  when  he  relinquished  the  administration  to  his 
coadjutor.  On  the  16th  of  October,  1877,  he  resigned  the  see 
and  removed  to  New  York  City.  The  Sovereign  Pontiff  subse- 
quently appointed  him  to  the  see  of  Curium.  He  has  since  on 
several  occasions  rendered  essential  service  to  the  Most  Bev. 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  and  attended  the  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  in  1884. 


n 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  S.  MoNEIRNY,       • 

2  hdrd  JSishop  of  Albany^ 

Fbanois  S.  MoNeibnt  was  bom  in  the  city  of  New  York  on 
the  25th  of  April,  1828,  and  began  his  studies  in  the  school  of 
Mr.  Harrow,  a  Catholic  teacher.  In  September,  1841,  he  was 
sent  to  Montreal,  and  entered  the  college  in  that  city  directed  by 
the  priests  of  the  community  of  St.  Sulpice.  Here  he  remained 
till  he  terminated  the  course  of  philosophy.  He  then  resolved 
to  enter  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and  pursued  his  theological  stud- 
ies in  the  Grand  Seminary  from  1849  to  1854,  actfng  as  procura- 
tor of  the  institution  for  one  year,  and  for  two  years  directing 
the  class  of  belles-lettres  in  the  college.  Returning  to  New  York, 
he  received  the  tonsure,  minor  orders,  and  subdeaconship  at  the 
hands  of  Archbishop  Hughes  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral.  He  was 
ordained  deacon  on  the  feast  of  the  Assumption,  1854,  and  priest 
two  days  later.  The  young  clergyman  was  immediately  stationed 
at  the  cathedral  and  made  chaplain  to  the  archbishop.  His  per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  rites  and  offices  of  the  Church  caused  Rev. 


#ti 


DIOOSB  OV  AliBiyt. 


ist 


Mr.  McNeiniy  to  be  selected  on  all  solemn  occasions  as  master 
of  ceremonies,  and  he  did  much  to  give  dignity  to  the  services  of 
the  Churchr  In  1867  he  was  made  chancellor  of  the  diocese  of 
New  York,  and  from  1869  he  was,  as  secretary  to  Archbishop 
Hughm  or  secretary  of  the  diocese  or  the  council,  constantly  and 
intimately  connected  with  the  management  of  affairs.  When  the 
health  of  Bishop  Conroy,  of  Albany,  required  relief  from  duty, 
the  Bev.  Mr.  McNeimy  was  appointed ;  he  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Rhesina  and  coadjutor  of  Albany  April  21,  1872.  On 
the  18th  of  January,  1874,  the  administration  of  the  diocese  was 
confided  to  him,  and  on  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Oonroy,  Octo* 
ber  16, 1877,  he  became  third  Bishop  of  Albany.  Under  his 
careful  and  prudent  administration  the  diocese  has  prospered  and 
acquired  order  and  solidity.  Although  the  diocese  of  Ogdens- 
burg  was  set  off  in  1872,  the  churches  and  chapels  have  increased 
from  170  to  210;  the  priests  from  120  to  197;  the  parochial 
schools  number  twelve  thousand  pupils,  while  the  religious  orders 
have  been  increased  by  the  accession  of  Brothers  of  the  Good 
Works,  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  Sisters  of  Christian  Charity, 
Sisters  of  St.  Dominic,  and  Presentation  Nuns.  The  Jesuit  Fa* 
thers,  Augnstinians,  and  Franciscan  Conventuals  have  houses  in 
the  diocese  of  Albany,  and  in  it  is  situated  the  Provincial  Semi- 
nary at  Troy,  a  large  theological  institution  with  an  able  corps 
of  professors.  There  are  also  houses  of  the  Nuns  of  the  Good 
Shepherd. 

In  1886  the  number  of  priests  in  the  diocese  had  increased  to 
212,  and  on  the  26th  of  November  in  that  year  a  nc  w  diocese  was 
formed  by  the  division  of  that  of  Albany,  with  an  episcopal  see 
at  Sjrracuse. 

The  diocese  of  Albany  five  years  after  its  division  (1891) 
contained  169  priests,  36  ecclesiastical  students,  124  churches,  116 
chapels  and  stations,  1  seminary  and  1  college,  8  academies,  36 
parochial  schools  with  11,192  pupils,  and  an  estimated  Catholic 
population  of  200,000.  V 


V-3 


»  I'-Jsi 


,^:r^r, 


DIOCESE  OF  ALTON. 


RIGHT  KEV.  HENRY  DAMIAN  JUNCKER* 
Mrat  Bishop  of  Alton. 


Henbt  Damian  JuiroKEB  was  born  on  August  22, 1809,  at  F^< 
n^trange,  in  the  province  of  Lorraine,  while  it  was  still  part  of 
the  French  territory.  During  his  studies  he  felt  called  to  devote 
himself  to  the  American  mission,  and,  coming  to  this  country,  en- 
tered the  seminary  of  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati,  showing  ability  as 
a  student  and  as  a  teacher.  He  was  ordained  priest  March  16, 
1884,  being  the  first  dhe  who  received  holy  orders  from  the  hands 
of  Bishop  PurcelL  He  was  appointed  to  Holy  Trinity,  the  first 
German  church  in  Cincinnati,  and  in  1836  became  pastor  of  St. 
John's  Church,  Canton,  the  next  year  of  Chillicothe,  and  from  1844 
to  1857  of  Emmanuel  Church,  Dayton.  In  1854  the  Holy  See  di- 
vided the  diocese  of  Chicago  and  established  a  see  at  Quincy.  The 
clergymen  nominated  to  the  new  bishopric  declined  the  mitre,  and 
the  diocese  was  temporarily  administered  by  Bis'  O'Regan.  On 
the  9th  of  January,  1867,  the  see  was  transfeiTeci  Alton,  the  new 
diocese  retaining  the  same  limits  as  that  of  Quincy.  Rev.  Mr. 
Juncker  was  appointed  first  Bishop  of  AKon,  and,  having  received 
consecration  from  Archbishop  Purcell  on  the  26th  of  April,  1857,  he 
proceeded  to  organize  the  Alton  diocese,  in  which  he  found  only 
eighteen  priests;  in  the  first  year  he  obtained  twenty-four  oth- 
ers, and  eight  new  churches  were  erected.  After  acquainting  him- 
self with  the  wants  of  the  diocese.  Bishop  Juncker  visited  Eu- 
rope to  obtain  aid,  and  on  the  19th  of  April,  1869,  gathered  his 
flock  to  witness  the  dedication  of  the  cathedral  by  Archbishop 
Kenrick.  Bishop  Juncker's  visitations  were  constant;  in  many 
places  he  was  the  pioneer  missionary  priest,  gathering  Catholics 
and  organizing  congregations,  administering  the  gacramenti,  itnd 

'  -  184 


s^^i^^^^^ 


DI00B8B  OF  Al/roV. 


186 


t  22, 1800,  at  F6. 
was  still  part  of 
called  to  devote 
•  this  country,  en- 
bowing  ability  as 
priest  March  16, 
rs  from  the  hands 
Trinity,  the  first 
une  pastor  of  St. 
ie,  and  from  1844 
the  Holy  See  di- 
at  Quincy.    The 
Led  the  mitre,  and 
O'Regan.    On 
Alton,  the  new 
lincy.     Rev.  Mr. 
,  having  received 
of  April,  1857,  he 
A  he  found  only 
twenty-four  oth- 
acquainting  him- 
cker  visited  Eu- 
B59,  gathered  his 
by  Archbishop 
nstant;  in  many 
ihering  Catholics 
sacrament!,  and 


preparing  the  way  for  the  pastor,  whom  it  was  his  nezt^oare  to 
send  them.  By  the  year  1868  he  had  brought  the  diocese  to  a 
flourishing  condition,  with  colleges,  academies,  hospitals,  and  asy* 
lums ;  fifty-six  parochial  schools,  one  hundred  priests,  and  128 
churches;  the  t^ranciscan  Fathers,  TJrsuline  Nuns,  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph,  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  Sidlers  of  Charity,  as 
well  as  the  Sisters  of  the  Poor  of  St.  Francis,  joining  in  the  good 
work. 

After  a  long  and  severe  illness  Bishop  Juncker  was  removed 
iiom  the  scene  of  his  energetic  labors  October  2,  1868. 


RIGHT  REV.  PETER  JOSEPH  BALTES, 

Second  Bishop  of  Alton, 

Peteb  Joseph  Baltes  was  bom  in  the  village  of  Ensheim,  in 
the  diocese  of  Spire,  Bavlria,  April  7,  1827,  and  came  to  this 
country  with  his  parents  when  only  six  years  old.  The  family 
settled  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  their  son  made  his  classi- 
cal  course  in  New  York  and  at  the  College  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
Worcester,  completing  his  theology  in  the  University  of  St.  Mary's 
of  the  Lake,  Chicago.  Desiring  to  devote  his  life  to  the  sernce 
of  God,  he  was  accepted  for  the  diocese  of  Chicago,  and,  after 
a  theological  course  at  the  Sulpitian  Seminary  in  Montreal,  was 
ordained  May  21,  1853.  His  first  mission  labors  were  at  Water* 
loo,  Monroe  County,  from  which  he  was  transferred  to  Belle- 
ville,  both  in  the  new  diocese  of  Quincy.  He  remained  at  Belle- 
ville, devoting  himself  to  his  missionary  duties  and  acquiring  a 
reputation  for  ability  and  zeal,  till  the  death  <>f  Bishop  Juncker, 
when  he  was  made  administrator  of  the  diocese.  The  appoint- 
ment foreshadowed  his  election  to  the  bishopric  by  Pope  Pius  IX., 
September  24,  1869.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  23d  of  Janu< 
ary,  1870,  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Belleville,  where  he  had  so  long 
ministered,  and  was  the  first  bishop  consecrated  in  the  State  oi 
Illinois,  though  Catholicity  had  flourished  there  fo)  kt^/i^l^  t^v 


186 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBBARCHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


centuries.  Bishop  Baltes  has  been  a  watchful  and  energetic 
bishop,  laboring  earnestly  to  guard  his  flock.  Under  his  care 
the  religious  orders  already  in  the  diocese  developed,  and 
Brothers  of  the  Holy  Gross,  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Gross,  of  Mercy, 
of  the  Precious  Bfood,  of  Loretto,  and  of  St  Dominic,  with  the 
Poor  Handmaids  of  Ghrist,  came  to  labor  in  his  bishopric.  In 
1884  the  diocese  had  two  colleges  under  the  Franciscan  Fathers, 
nine  academies,  100  parochial  schools  with  11,000  pupils,  three 
asylums,  eleven  hospitals,  169  priests,  and  190  churches.  The 
diocese  sustained  a  terrible  loss  in  1884  by  the  conflagration  of 
St.  Joseph's  Gonvent  and  Academy  of  Notre  Dame  in  the 
bishop's  former  parish  of  Belleville,  where  27  lives  were  lost. 
Bishop  Baltes  has  held  a  synod,  and  by  wise  regulations  pro- 
vided for  the  maintenance  of  discipline  in  the  diocese  confided 
to  him. 

His  health  began  to  decline,  but  early  in  1886  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be  recovering'  from  a  disease  of  the  liver,  when  he  sud- 
denly grew  worse,  and  died  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  February  15,  1886.  At  his  solemn  obsequies 
Archbishops  Keniick,  Feehan,  and  Heiss,  with  Bishop  Hogan, 
attended.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rt.  Rev.  James  Ryai,  May  1, 
1888. 


:^t- 


DIOCESE  OF  BROOKLYN. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  LOUGHLIN, 
Mrst  Bishop  of  Broold/yn. 

Joss  LoTTQHLm  was  bom  in  the  County  Down,  Ireland,  in 
the  year  1816,  and  came  at  an  early  age  to  this  country.  His 
boyhood  was  spent  in  Albany.  To  secure  him  a  thorough  Ga* 
tholic  education  he  was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's,  Emmittsburg, 
where  as  a  student  and  teacher  he  attracted  attention  by  his 
ability.  On  completing  his  divinity  course  he  was  ordained 
priest  by  Bishop  Hughes,  at  his  first  ordination,  October  18, 1840. 
Rev.  Mr.  Loughlin  was  appointed  assistant  pastor  at  St.  Pat- 
rick's Cathedral,  and  in  1844  became  rector.  Five  years  later 
he  was  chosen  by  Bishop  Hughes  vicar-general  of  the  diocese, 
and  discharged  the  important  duties  to  the  satisfaction  of  that 
great  prelate.  When  Long  Island  was  formed  into  a  diocese 
with  Brooklyn  as  the  episcopal  see,  the  Very  Rev.  John  Lough- 
lin was  chosen  the  first  bishop.  He  was  consecrated  by  Arch- 
bishop Cajetan  Bedini,  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  on  the  30th  of 
October,  1853.  He  was  installed  in  St.  James'  Church,  which  he 
had  taken  as  his  pro-cathedral,  on  the  9th  of  November,  and  be- 
gan the  labors  which,  extending  over  more  than  thirty  years,  have 
raised  so  many  monuments  of  his  zeal. 

On  taking  possession  of  his  diocese  Bishop  Loughlin  had  ten 
churches  in  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburg,  and  eleven  others  in 
the  rest  of  Long  Island,  attended  by  twenty-three  priests.  There 
were  two  orphan  asylums  and  a  few  schools  under  the  Brothers 
of  the  Christian  Schools  and  Sisters  of  Charity.  In  1855  he 
introduced  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and 
the  Visitation  Nuns  founded  a  monastery  of  their  order  in 
Brooklyn.  Under  the  impulse  of  his  zeal  churches  were  es- 
tablished ii^L.  all  parts  of  Long  Island,  and  especial  efforts  mad^ 


18S 


THE  OATHOLIO  HIBRAR0H7  IN  TRS  UNITIBD  STATBB. 


to  give  children  a  really  Catholic  training.  On  the  20th  of  June^ 
1868,  the  comer-stone  of  a  cathedral  church  under  the  invoca* 
tion  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  was  solemnly  laid  by  Arch* 
bishop  McCloskey.  The  site  is  on  Lafayette  Avenue,  between 
Clermont  and  Vanderbilt  Avenues,  and  the  edifice  has  gone 
slowly  on  ever  since. 

In  July,  1869,  the  comer-stone  of  the  college  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  on  Willoughby  Avenue  was  laid.  The  edifice  was  soon 
completed,  and  the  institution  opened  under  the  direction  of  the 
Lazarists,  or  Pnests  of  the  Mission.  About  the  same  time  the 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  began  an  asylum  for  penitent  wo- 
men. The  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Poor  opened  St.  Francis' 
Hospital,  and  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor  an  Asylum  for  the 
Aged,  which  was  unfortunately  destroyed  by  fire  in  March,  1876, 
with  the  loss  of  several  lives  in  spite  of  the  heroic  efforts  of  the 
Sisters.  The  diocese  has  also  been  endowed  with  a  Home  for 
Boys.  „ 

Bishop  Loughlin  took  part  in  several  councils  of  Baltimore, 
two  of  them  Plenary,  as  well  as  in  the  Provincial  Councils  of 
New  York,  and  held  a  Diocesan  Synod  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing in  his  diocese  the  decrees  of  the  councils. 

In  1884  the  city  of  Brooklyn  had  45  churches.  Kings  County 
9,  Queens  County  25,  and  Suffolk  County  12  ;  the  priests  of  the 
diocese  of  Brooklyn  numbered  166 ;  there  were  76  parish  schools 
with  21,500  pupils;  seven  orphan  asylums  under  Sisters  of  St 
Joseph,  of  St.  Dominic,  of  Mercy,  and  of  Charity;  hospitals 
under  Sisters  of  Charity,  St.  Dominic,  and  the  Franciscan  Sisters 
of  the  Poor;  an  Institute  for  Deaf  Mutes,  two  Homes  for  Desti- 
tute Children,  a  Nursery,  an  Invalids'  Home,  and  a  House  of  the 
Good  Shepherd. 

In  1891  there  were,  in  the  diocese  of  Brooklyn,  183  priests, 
153  churches  and  chapels,  1  seminaiy,  with  30  ecclesiastical  stu- 
dents ;  2  colleges,  17  academies,  90  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catho- 
lic population  of  200,000. 


mue,  between 


DIOCESE  OF  BUFFALO. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  TIMOnI  OIL, 

Mrat  Bishop  of  Buffalo, 

John  Timon  was  bom  in  Conewago,  Pennsylvania,  of  Irish 
parentage,  on  the  12th  of  February,  1797.  When  a  young  man 
he  went  to  St.  Louis  with  his  family  and  engaged  in  mercantile 
life,  but  in  April,  1828,  he  entered  the  Lazarist  Seminary  of  St. 
Mary's  of  the  Barrens  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  priest 
Having  been  received  into  the  order,  he  was  ordained  in  1825. 
He  had  already  made  an  essay  of  mission  life,  accompanying  Rev. 
Mr.  Odin  on  an  excursion  through  Arkansas  and  Texas.  Rev. 
Father  Timon's  first  missions  were  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Barrens, 
extending  to  Cape  Girardeau,  Jackson,  and  New  Madrid.  In 
his  labors  he  encountered  opposition,  and  was  occasionally  com* 
pelled  to  enter  the  lists  with  Protestant  ministers.  In  1835  he 
was  appointed  visitor  of  the  Lazarists  in  the  United  States. 
This  office  entailed  new  and  difficult  labors  on  him,  requiring  a 
visit  to  the  East  and  to  Europe,  from  which  he  returne  f  m  1837 
with  several  missionaries.  The  due  organization  of  the  (.rder  at 
this  time  was  mainly  his  work.  The  next  year  he  established  a 
theological  seminary  in  Louisiana,  and,  at  the  request  of  Arch- 
bishop Blanc,  visited  Texas  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  the 
Church  there.  His  visit  was  a  laborious  mission  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Catholics  in  that  territory.  Returning  to  Missouri,  Father 
Timbn  began  a  series  of  missions  in  that  State  and  Illinois,  amid 
which  he  received  bulls  appointing  him  coadjutor  of  St.  Louis, 
but  he  refused  the  dignity.  In  April,  1840,  he  received  letters 
naming  him  Prefect- Apostolic  of  Texas,  with  power  to  admin- 
ister confirmation.  He  accepted  the  position  and  sent  Rev.  Mr. 
Odin  to  Texas,  and  soon  after  wrote  to  Rome  to  request  the 
appointment  of  that  clergyman  as  prefect.    He  went  to  Texiw 


190 


THE  OATHOUO  HIKIUBOHT  IN  THB  UHITED  8TATJS8. 


himself  at  the  close  of  the  year,  and  gained  the  good-will  of  the 
members  of  the  government  of  the  Republic  of  Texas,  from  whom 
he  solicited  a  confirmation  of  the  right  of  the  Church  to  the 
property  held  by  it  under  Spain.  Having  visited  the  chief 
towns  in  Texas,  he  left  Rev.  Mr.  Odin  in  charge  of  the  missions 
and  returned  to  Missouri,  from  which  business  of  the  order  soon 
required  him  to  set  out  for  France. 

Father  Timon  maintained  this  life  of  incessant  activity  as 
superior  of  the  Lazarists  till  he  received,  on  the  5th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1847,  bulls  appointing  him  Bishop  of  Buffalo.  His  humility 
prompted  him  to  decline  the  honor ;  but  prudent  priests  urged 
him  to  accept,  and  he  yielded  because  his  duty  as  visitor  had 
become  extremely  onerous.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  17th  of 
October  in  the  cathedral  of  New  York,  and  at  once  proceeded 
to  his  diocese,  taking  up  his  residence  at  the  church  of  St.  Louis 
till  the  trustees  requested  his  departure.  The  first  year  he  spent 
in  the  visitation  of  h}^  diocese,  giving  missions  aind  confirming. 
In  the  course  of  this  constant  travel  he  was  thrown  from  a  sleigh 
and  severely  injured.  When  fully  acquainted  with  his  diocese 
and  its  wants  he  attempted  to  establish  a  college,  but  his  first 
efforts  failed ;  he  founded  a  hospital,  introduced  the  Ladies  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  who  opened  an  academy,  and  also  the  Sisters 
of  Our  Lady  of  Charity  and  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  The  charit- 
able Nicholas  Devereux,  of  Utica,  was  instrumental  in  obtaining 
from  Rome  a  colony  of  Recollects,  or  Reformed  Franciscans,  who 
in  time  established  a  prosperous  seminary  and  college  at  Alle- 
gany. The  trustees  of  St.  Louis*  Church  renewed  the  insubor- 
dinate conduct  which  had  already  caused  scandal,  and  they  re- 
fused to  submit  even  to  the  delegate  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 
Their  rebellion  led  to  the  closing  of  the  church,  and  for  years 
was  a  source  of  pain  to  Bishop  Timon.  Li  1857  the  Lazarists, 
to  the  bishop's  joy,  opened  the  seminary  of  Our  Lady  of  the 
Angels,  near  Niagara  City — an  institution  which  has  prospered. 
Besides  his  labors  in  the  diocese,  in  which  Bishop  Timon  held 
several  synods,  he  went  to  Rome  at  the  time  of  the  definition  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  on  the  anniversary  of  St.  Peter,  and 
at  the  time  of  the  canoniz&.don  of  the  Japanese  martyrs ;  he  alsq 
attended  the  Provincial  Councils  of  New  York.. 


DIOOBSB  OF  BUFFALO. 


198 


Tn  186S  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral, 
which  was  dedicated  in  1855.  Bishop  Timon  continued  his 
labors  till  he  was  attacked  in  1866  with  erysipelas — a  disease  that 
in  his  enfeebled  state  was  highly  dangerous.  He  took  medical 
advice,  but  continued  to  discharge  his  duties  till  Monday  in 
Holy  Week,  when  at  the  close  of  the  devotipns  he  asked  prayers 
for  a  happy  death.  With  great  difficulty  he  reached  his  bed, 
and  died  piously  the  next  day,  April  16,  1867. 


RIGHT  REV.  STEPHEN  VINCENT  RYAN,  CM., 

Second  Bishop  of  Buffalo. 

Stbphbk  ViNOBirr  Rtan  was  bom  near  the  village  of  Al- 
monte, Upper  Canada,  January  1,  1825,  his  parents  having  emi* 
grated  some  time  before  from  the  County  of  Clare,  in  Ireland. 
While  he  was  still  a  child  the  family  removed  to  Pottsville,  in 
Schuylkill  County,  Pennsylvania.  In  1840,  when  Stephen  was 
about  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  was  sent  to  St.  Charles'  Seminary, 
Philadelphia.  On  the  5th  of  May,  1844,  he  entered  the  order  of 
the  Lazarist  Fathers  at  Cape  Girardeau,  Missouri,  and  completed 
his  studies  for  the  ministry  at  St.  Mary's  of  the  Barrens.  He 
was  ordained  priest  in  St.  Louis,  June  24,  1849,  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop  Kenrick.  The  young  priest  remained  for  a  time 
in  Perry  County,  Missouri,  a«  professor  and  prefect  in  St.  Mary's 
of  the  Barrens,  and  was  subsequently  professor  at  Cape  Girardeau. 
He  then  became  president  of  St.  Vincent's  College,  and  filled  that 
important  position  until  the  year  1857,  when  he  was  made  visi- 
tor of  the  Congregation  of  the  Mission  in  the  United  States. 
While  holding  this  position  he  resided  at  St.  Louis  till  it  was 
decided  to  remove  the  mother-house  and  novitiate  of  the  com- 
munity to  Germantown,  Philadelphia.  The  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Ryan 
took  an  important  part  in  creating  the  new  establishment,  and 
made  it  his  residence  till  he  was  elected  to  the  see  of  Buffalo. 
He  was  consecrated  in  his  episcopal  city,  by  Archbishop,  now 
Cardinal,  McCloskey,  on  the  8th  of  November,  1868.    The  origi- 


19i 


m  OATHOUO  HIiaASCHT  IN  TBI  UmITID  fTATia 


nal  diocese  of  Bu£falo  bad  been  diminisbed  by  tbe  erection  of  a 
lee  at  Bocbester,  and,  wben  Bisbop  Ryan  assumed  tbe  admin* 
istration,  comprised  only  tbe  counties  of  Erie,  Niagara,  Genesee, 
Orleans,  Gbautauqua,  Wyoming,  Cattaraugus,  Steuben,  Cbemung, 
TiogtL,  Allegany,  and  Scbuyler.  It  contained  a  Catbolio  popu* 
lation  of  probably  90,000  souls,  wbo  bad  a  bundred  cburcbes,  at- 
tended by  more  tban  a  bundred  priests.  Besides  tbe  seminary 
establisbed  at  tbe  bisbop's  bouse,  tbe  Fatbers  of  tbe  Congregation 
of  tbe  Mission  bad  a  fine  seminary,  dedicated  to  Our  Lady  of  tbe 
Angels,  at  the  Suspension  Bridge,  and  tbe  Reformed  Franciscans 
had  a  college  and  seminary  at  Allegany ;  Redemptorists,  Passion- 
ists,  and  Oblates  had  establishments ;  tbe  Christian  Brothers  and 
several  orders  of  Sisters  were  engaged  in  training  the  young  or 
employing  tbe  resources  of  Catholic  charity  for  tbe  relief  of 
human  miseries.  In  a  few  years  the  Fathers  of  tbe  Society  of 
Jesus  from  Germany  came  to  open  Canisius  College,  in  Buffalo. 

The  Catholic  population  has  not  of  late  years  increased  much 
by  immigration,  and  the  natural  progress  by  births  has  been  re- 
duced by  the  removal  of  many  westward. 


DIOCESE  OF  BURUNGTOii. 


'«'i 


RIGHT  REV.  LOUIS  DE  G0ES!BRIAND, 

First  Bishop  of  Burlington, 

Louis  de  GoisBBiAin)  was  born  at  St.  Urbain,  in  tbe  dio* 

cese  of  Quimper,  in  the  Catholic  province  of  Brittany,  France,  on 

the  4th  of  August,  1816.    After  pursuing  a  classical  course  at 

Quimper  and  Pont  Croiz-Finisterre  he  entered  the  seminary  at 

Quimper,  and  there  and  at  St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  went  through  a 

thorough  theological  course.     He  was  ordained  priest  in  Pahs 

on  the  13th  of  July,  1840,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Rosati,  Bishop 

of  St.  Louis,  and,  devoting  himself  to  the  American  mission,  came 

to  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati,  where  he  exercised  the  ministry  from 

September,  1840,  to  October,  1847,  chiefly  as  pastor  of  St.  Louis' 

Church,  near  Canton,  and  St.  Genevieve's,  in  Holmes  County,  and 

at  Toledo,  whence  he  attended  Manhattan,  Providence,  Napoleon, 

and  Decatur.      On  the  erection   of  the  diocese  of  Cleveland 

Bishop  Rappe  made  Rev.  Mr.  de  Goesbriand  his  vicar-general 

and  rector  of  his  cathedral,  which  positions  he  discharged  zeal* 

ously  till  he  was  appointed  bishop  of  the  newly-erected  see  of 

Burlington,  Vermont.    Catholicity  had  made  stow  progress  in 

that  State,  although  a  French  fort  and  chapel  were  built  on  Isle 

La  Motte  as  early  as  1666.     Rev.  Mr.  Matignon  visited  the  Ver« 

mont  Catholics  in  1816,  followed  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Mignault,  Paul 

McQuade,  James  Fitton,  and  Bishop  Fen  wick.    About  1830,  for 

the  first  time,  the  Catholics  in  Vermont  had  a  resident  pastor, 

Rev.  Jeremiah  O'Callaghan.    Their  numbers  increased  in  spite 

of  opposition,  and  converts  began  to  come  into  the  Church. 

When  Bishop  de  Goesbriand  took  possession  of  his  see  on  the 

6th  of  November,  1853,  there  were  in  the  whole  State  only  eight 

churches  and  five  priests,  but  not  a  school  or  institution  of  any 

kind.    With  his  missionary  experience  in  the  West,  Bishop  de 

Its 


'.Ws 


196 


TBB  OATHOUO  HIBRAROHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


Goesbriand  began  the  work  of  building  up  a  diocese  with  all  the 
zeal  of  a  chivalric  French  priest  of  ancestral  renown. 

He  appealed  to  France  for  priests,  and  from  that  country  and 
elsewhere  gradually  gathered  a  set  of  devoted  clergymen.  Very 
soon  after  he  assumed  the  administration  he  introduced  Sis- 
ters of  Providence,  who  opened  a  day-school,  took  charge  of 
the  orphans,  and  visited  the  sick.  Bishop  de  Uoesbriand  was  al- 
ready making  progress  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  twenty-five 
thousand  Catholics.  By  ^  ""^0,  though  the  number  of  the  faith- 
ful had  not  increased  rapidlj ,  there  were  twenty-nine  churches 
and  thirteen  priests.  The  next  decade  showed  an  increase  of 
Catholic  population  to  34,000,  with  88  churches  and  28  priests. 
The  Sisters  of  Providence  extended  their  houses  to  Winooski, 
and  there  were  Catholic  schools  in  Burlington,  Winooski,  Rut- 
land, and  Burlington.  The  episcopal  city  had  a  fine  Gothic  ca- 
thedral, built  of  stone  quarried  on  Isle  La  Motte,  the  cradle  of 
Catholicity  in  Vermont.  In  the  next  fifteen  years  the  population 
had  increased  steadily,  the  Catholic  baptisms  in  1883  being  2,037 
out  of  7.350  infants  born  in  the  State  in  the  year.  The  churches 
had  nearly  doubled,  numbering  71  in  1884,  with  37  priests,  15 
parochial  schools  with  2,846  pupils.  The  Sisters  of  Providence 
are  aided  by  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sistere  of  St.  Joseph,  and  Sisters 
of  the  Congregation  of  Our  Lady. 

The  latest  statistics  from  authentic  sources  are  as  follows :  62 
priests,  13  seminarians,  76  churches,  18  parochial  schools  with 
4,000  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  40,000. 


se  witli  all  tlie 


DIOCESE  OF  GHABLESTON. 


EIGHT  REV.  JOHN  ENGLAND, 

Fi/rat  Bidhop  of  Gharleaton. 

John  England,  destined  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  Ameri* 
can  bishops,  was  born  in  Cork,  Ireland,  September  28,  1786,  of  a 
family  that  had  suffered  severely  under  the  unchristian  penal 
laws.  Inheriting  their  piety,  he  grew  up  deeply  attached  to  his 
faith.  After  spending  two  years  at  the  study  of  law  John 
England  renounced  the  world  and  entered  Carlow  College  to 
prepare  for  the  priesthood.  While  a  seminarian  he  showed  his 
missionary  spirit  by  undertaking  the  spiritual  instruction  of  the 
militia  quartered  near  the  college,  and  by  founding  an  asylum 
for  unprotected  women  and  a  free  school.  Before  his  ordina- 
tion he  preached  in  Carlow  cathedral,  and  was  appointed  presi- 
dent of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Cork.  After  his  ordina- 
tion, October  10,  1808,  he  delivered  a  series  of  lectures  in  the 
cathedral,  and  became  chaplain  of  the  prison.  Soon  after  he 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  Theological  Seminary  by 
Bishop  Moylan,  and  appointed  by  his  successor.  Bishop  Murphy, 
parish  priest  of  Bandon,  a  most  bigoted  place,  where  Catholics 
and  their  clergy  were  subjected  to  every  form  of  insult. 

When  the  diocese  of  Charleston  was  established,  embracing 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  Dr.  England  was  selected  for  the 
mitre,  and  was  consecrated  on  the  21st  of  September,  1820,  by 
Bishop  Murphy  in  Cork.  On  reaching  his  diocese  Bishop  Eng- 
land found  only  two  churches  and  two  priests.  He  made  a  visi- 
tation of  his  diocese,  gathering  Catholic  families  together,  en- 
couraging them  to  persevere  in  the  faith  till  he  could  obtain 
priests  for  them.  To  recruit  his  clergy  he  established  a  classical 
school  in  Charleston,  the  teachers  being  candidates  for  holy 
orders,  who  puisued  their  theology  uiuier  the  bishop.    He  ra- 


198 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIBRABOHT  IN  THB  ITNITBD  STATB8. 


Tived  classical  studies  in  the  South  and  took  part  in  scientific 
and  literacy  associations.  As  a  preacher  he  was  univ^ersally 
admired,  Protestants  flocking  to  hear  his  discourses.  So  deeply 
did  the  Catholic  bishop  impress  them  that,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Southern  members,  he  was  invited  to  preach  before  the  members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington. 

The  diocese  committed  to  Dr.  England's  charge  involved 
great  exertion  and  labor,  from  which  he  never  shrunk,  but  he  was 
alive  to  the  wants  of  the  Church  in  the  whole  republic.  He 
identified  himself  with  the  country  from  his  consecration,  and 
became  thoroughly  American  in  feeling.  He  endeavored  to 
organize  the  Church  in  each  of  the  States  under  his  care  by 
giving  it  an  annual  convention  of  the  clergy  with  lay  delegates 
from  the  various  congregations.  In  these  conventions  affairs  of 
general  interest  were  discussed.  He  was  the  first,  too,  to  estab- 
lish a  Catholic  paper,  so  as  to  give  the  Church  a  medium  for 
spreading  information,  exciting  faith  and  perseverance,  and  refut- 
ing error  by  the  clear  assertion  of  dogmatic  truth.  The  United 
States  Catholic  Miscellany^  founded  and  conducted  by  Bishop 
England,  met  and  repelled  attacks  on  the  Church  with  wonderful 
ability,  forcing  men  who  wished  a  fair  fame  to  be  guarded  in 
repeating  the  oft-refuted  and  stale  calumnies  against  Catholics. 
Bishop  England's  articles  were  read  and  copied  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  producing  incalculable  good.  But  while  his  mind 
was  given  to  the  greatest  topics,  he  never  neglected  his  duties  as 
bishop  or  as  what  he  had  always  to  be — a  hard-working  mis- 
sionary priest.  He  was  devoted  in  his  attention  to  his  flock,  and 
when  the  yellow  fever  and  other  epidemics  visited  Charleston 
he  was  untiring  in  his  attention  to  the  sick,  hastening  in  the  hot- 
test days  to  the  bedside  of  the  dying,  from  whom  all  others 
shrunk  in  horror.  The  condition  of  the  colored  people  excited 
all  his  sympathy,  but  his  efforts  to  educate  and  improve  them 
were  at  that  time  too  little  in  unison  with  the  public  spirit  to 
be  maintained.  He  made  sacrifices  to  save  some  from  the  evils 
of  slavery.  In  one  case  a  Catholic  had  bought  a  beautiful  quad- 
roon, and,  finding  her  possessed  of  a  refined  and  pure  mind,  mar- 
ried her.  Their  two  daughters  were  educated  in  the  best  schools 
of  the  North,  and  possessed  all  the  accomplishments  and  manners 


DIOOESB  OF  CHARLESTON. 


1^9 


of  cultivated  ladi'.e  On  their  father's  death  they  supposed 
themselves  heiresses  'i  his  property,  but,  to  their  indescribable 
horror,  found  that  their  father  had  negle<;ted  to  make  out  the 
legal  papers  freeing  their  mother.  They  were  slaves  and  part  of 
their  father's  property,  which  all  devolved  on  l  distant  relative. 
The  hard-hearted  man  not  only  took  the  property,  but  sent  the 
two  girls  to  be  sold,  that  he  might  add  the  price  to  his  wealth. 
Bishop  England  gave  all  his  own  means  and  what  he  could  pro- 
cure to  rescue  the  girls  from  the  terrible  fate  before  them. 

Bishop  England,  in  1834,  obtained  a  colony  of  Ursuline  nuns 
from  Ireland,  and  organized  the  community  of  Sisters  of  Our 
Lady  of  Mercy,  founded  in  1829  by  Misses  Mary  and  Honora 
O'Gorman  and  Teresa  Barry.  This  order  still  maintains  its  good 
work. 

BishDp  England  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  promoters  of 
the  project  of  a  Provincial  Council,  and  sat  in  the  first  four  held 
at  Baltimore,  where  his  learning  and  sound  judgment  contri- 
buted greatly  to  the  good  accomplished.  He  thus  exercised  an 
influence  on  the  whole  Church  in  the  United  States;  and  the 
Holy  Father  employed  him  even  beyond  the  limits  of  our  terri- 
tory, appointing  him,  March  15,  1833,  Visitor- Apostolic  of  Santo 
Domingo.  He  twice  visited  that  island  to  negotiate  such  arrange- 
ments as  would  enable  the  Pope  to  appoint  bishops  for  that  long- 
bereaved  Church.  In  fulfilment  of  the  duties  thus  imposed  upon 
him  Dr.  England  twice  visited  the  island  where  -the  first  biah« 
opric  in  America  had  been  established,  and  did  much  to  prepare 
for  a  revival  of  discipline. 

Besides  all  these  labors  Bishop  England  found  time  to  write 
important  works  on  religious  subjects.  His  incessant  labors  at 
last  told  on  a  frame  naturally  vigorous.  Returning  from  Europe 
in  1841,  he  was  no  fewer  than  fifty-two  days  at  sea,  and  when 
dysentery  broke  out  on  the  vessel  he  was  constantly  beside  the 
sick  till  he  himself  was  prostrated.  Landing  at  Philadelphia  in 
an  extremely  enfeebled  condition,  he  refused  all  rest,  but 
preached  and  lectured  with  all  his  wonted  brilliancy  in  Phila- 
delphia and  Baltimore.  After  reaching  Charleston  he  rallied, 
but  the  recovery  was  only  transient.  He  prepared  for  the  last 
moment  with  calmness.    After  addressing  his  clergy  he  received 


Xi-.^ 


iZ^JB^'^PPBilJJIWf,^ 


200 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIBSABOHT  IK  THB  UNZTBD  STATBS. 


the  last  saoraments,  and  expired  April  11,  1842,  mourned  by  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city. 

His  successor,  Bishop  Reynolds,  collected  the  writings  of 
Bishop  England  in  six  volumes,  which  form  one  of  the  most 
prized  works  in  the  libraries  of  the  clergy.  A  selection  of  the 
most  remarkable  writings  of  Bishop  England,  edited  by  Hugh 
P.  McElrone,  was  published  at  Baltimore  in  1884. 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  CLANCJY, 

BU^i/op  of  Oriensej  Coadjutor  of  Charleston,  and  Vicar-Aposto- 
lic of  Biitish  Guiana. 

William  Clancy,  a  native  of  Cork,  Ireland,,  a  graduate  of 
Carlow  College,  after  acting  as  curate  at  that  institution  and 
filling  a  chair  of  theology,  was  selected,  October  30,  1834,  as 
coadjutor  to  Bishop  England,  and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Oriense  in  Carlow  cathedral,  Febmaiy  1,  1835,  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  Nolan.  Owing  to  a  serious  illness  he  did  not  reach 
Charleston  till  November  21.  He  remained  only  a  short  time 
in  the  diocese,  but  aided  Bishop  England  materially,  and  sat  in 
the  Third  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  in  April,  1837.  On 
the  12th  of  that  month,  however,  he  had  been  appointed  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  British  Guiana,  and  proceeded  to  that  province. 
His  administration  proved  so  unsatisfactory  that  he  incurred 
censure,  and  the  management  of  the  vicariate  was  in  1838  com- 
mitted to  another.  Bishop  Clancy  returned  to  Ireland,  and  died 
there  in  1847. 


DIOCESE  OF  OflABLESTON. 


201 


d  Vica/f-Apo8to- 


RIGHT  REV.  IGNATIUS  ALOYSIUS  REYNOLDS, 
Second  Bishofp  of  CJiarleaUfn. . 

Ignattob  Alotsiub  Retnolds  was  born  near  BardstowD,  Ken- 
tucky, August  22,  1798,  of  one  of  the  Catholic  families  that  emi* 
grated  from  Maryland  to  that  State.  Trained  under  Bishop 
Flaget  and  Dr.  David,  he  early  showed  a  real  vocation,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  students  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Bards- 
town.  Completing  his  course  at  St  Mary's,  Baltimore,  the 
young  Kentuckian  was  ordained  there  October  24,  1823.  Re- 
turning to  his  native  State,  he  became  professor  and  subsequently 
president  of  Pt.  Joseph's  College  and  professor  in  the  seminary. 
He  bore  his  share  in  the  missionary  duties,  especially  during  the 
visitations  of  the  cholera.  He  succeeded  Bishop  David  as  eccle- 
siastical superior  of  the  Sistera  of  Charity,  and  was  for  many 
years  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  before  and  after  the  removal 
of  the  see  to  Louisville. 

The  Fathers  of  the  Fifth  Council  of  Baltimore  nominated 
Rev.  Mr.  Reynolds  as  successor  to  Dr.  England,  and  he  was  con- 
secrated, by  Archbishop  Purcell,  Bishop  of  Charleston  March 
19,  1844,  in  the  cathedral  of  Cincinnati.  He  made  frequent  visi- 
tations of  his  diocese,  gathered  the  scattered  Catholics,  besides 
winning  many  converts  to  the  faith.  His  flock  numbered  about 
twelve  thousand  in  a  population  of  two  millions,  but  the  diocese 
of  Charleston  was  heavily  in  debt ;  the  frame  cathedral  and 
bishop's  house  were  fast  falling  into  niins.  Bishop  Reynolds 
visited  Europe  to  obtain  aid,  and  on  his  return  assembled  his 
clergy  for  a  retreat.  He  began  to  collect  means  for  a  suitable 
cathedral,  and  secured  a  site,  but  the  work  was  not  begun  till 
May,  1850.  Bishop  Reynolds  had  the  consolation  of  seeing  it 
dedicated  in  April,  1854.  His  labor  in  his  diocese  was  active 
and  unremitting,  although  his  health  was  never  rugged.  He  at- 
tended the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Councils  of  Baltimore  and  the 
First  Plenary  Council ;  but  his  strength  failed  and  he  died  of 
congestion  of  the  lungs,  March  9,  1855,  having,  as  his  fellow- 
bishops   declared,  "worn   himself   out  in   the  service  of   hia 


202 


THE  OATHOUC  HIERABOHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Church."    The  whole  diocese  of  Charleston  deplored  the  loss  of 
the  kind,  generous,  and  laborious  bishop. 


BIGHT  RE  v..  PATRICK  NIESEN  LYNCH, 

!l%ird  Bishop  of  Charleston. 

Patmck  Niesen  Lynch  was  born  at  Clones,  Ireland,  March 
10,  1817,  but  when  only  two  years  old  was  brought  to  this 
country  by  his  parents,  who  settled  at  Cheraw,  South  Carolina. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  to  enter  the  seminary  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  when  it  was  opened  by  Bishop  England  in  Charleston, 
and  after  his  preparatory  training  there  was  sent  to  the  College 
of  the  Propaganda  at  Rome.  There  he  took  rank  as  one  of  the 
remarkable  scholars,  winning  his  doctor's  cap  with  honor,  and 
storing  his  mind  with  theological  and  scientific  learning.  After 
his  ordination  in  1840  he  returned  to  Charleston  and  was  sta- 
tioned at  the  cathedral.  In  1 844  he  was  appointed  to  St.  Mary^s 
Church,  of  which  he  was  pastor  for  eleven  years,  securing  the 
love,  respect,  and  admiration  of  his  flock,  especially  during  the 
yellow  fever  of  1 848.  Besides  his  parochial  duties  he  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  Collegiate  Institute,  and  for  many  years  vicar-general 
of  the  diocese.  On  the  death  of  Bishop  Reynolds  the  Very  Rev. 
Dr.  Lynch  became  administrator  of  the  diocese,  and  on  the  11th  of 
December,  1857,  was  elected  to  the  see.  He  was  consecrated  on 
the  14th  of  the  ensuing  March.  Catholicity  had  not  grown  in 
the  Southern  States,  as  it  had  at  the  North,  by  immigration,  and 
difficulties  of  many  kinds  embarrassed  the  bishops.  Br.  Lynch 
took  up  his  burden  zealously,  but  the  Civil  War,  which  began 
near  his  episcopal  city,  proved  almost  fatal  to  his  diocese.  In 
the  first  year  of  the  war  his  cathedral,  his  residence,  with  the  fine 
library  and  the  diocesan  archives,  were  swept  away  by  a  confla- 
gration, and  the  bombardment  and  siege  of  Charleston  ruined 
and  scattered  his  fiock.  In  the  burning  of  Columbia  by  Sher- 
man  the  church,  college,  and  convent  in  that  city  perished. 


DI00B8B  OF  0HABLB8T0N. 


^09 


During  the  war  Bishop  Lynch  visited  Europe  in  the  interests  of 
the  Confederacy,  and  bore  to  the  Pope  a  letter  from  President 
Davis.  He  returned  to  his  diocese  to  find  all  in  ruins,  priests 
and  people  scattered,  a  debt  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  a  debt  of  even  larger  amount  to  be  incurred  to  re- 
store what  was  absolutely  necessary ;  for  the  gpvemments  created 
after  the  peace  were  more  ruinous  even  than  the  desolating  ar* 
mies.  Resources  in  his  own  diocese  there  were  none.  Bishop 
Lynch  was  forced  into  a  kind  of  exile  to  raise  means  to  pay  off 
the  load  of  debt,  and  by  his  exertions  he  reduced  it  to  a  com* 
paratively  small  amount.  His  mission  duty  in  his  diocese,  espe- 
cially in  the  yellow  fever  of  1871,  was  unremitting.  In  1877  he 
underwent  a  surgical  operation  in  Boston  which  gave  him  tem- 
porary relief  from  a  distressing  malady,  but  in  a  year  or  two  the 
difficulty  returned,  and  it  was  evident  that  it  would  ultimately 
prove  fatal.  Physicians  urged  quiet,  but  the  necessities  of  the 
diocese  required  on  the  part  of  the  bishop  almost  constant  travel 
in  visitations  through  the  dioces-^  or  collecting  tours  without. 
Bishop  Lynch  returned  from  a  visitation  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State  of  South  Caroliri,  in  December,  1881,  so  prostrated 
that  he  was  brought  to  the  brink  of  the  grave.  He  rallied,  and 
there  was  hope  that  a  change  of  air  might  restore  him ;  but  his 
strength  waned,  and  he  prepared  for  death.  He  made  his  pro- 
fession of  faith,  asked  forgiveness  for  all  his  shortcomings,  and, 
having  received  the  Inst  sacraments,  he  gave  his  last  benediction 
to  his  clergy,  and  expired  Feb.  26, 1382.  He  had  previously  for- 
bidden all  display,  and  especially  any  sermon,  at  his  funeral. 
Bishop  Lynch  was  a  learned  and  forcible  writer,  and  for  years 
contributed  to  Catholic  publications.  His  articles  on  the  Vatican 
Council,  the  Liquefaction  of  the  Blood  of  St.  Januarius,  and  on 
Galileo  are  among  the  most  notable. 


;l^-;.- 


v/  ,  vv^ 


204 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBRARCHT  It7  THB  UIOTBD  STATBt. 


RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  P.  NORTHROP, 

Second  Vioa/r-Apoatolio  of  North  Carolina  and  Fourth  Biahop 

of  Charleston. 

Henry  Pinoknet  Northbop  was  born  in  Charleston,  S.  C, 
in  1842,  and,  after  preliminary  studies  in  his  native  city,  en- 
tered Georgetown  College,  and  concluded  his  university  course 
at  Mount  St.  Mary's,  where  he  was  graduated.  Feeling  himself 
called  to  the  priesthood,  young  Northrop  entered  the  seminary  at 
Emmittsburg,  but  soon  proceeded  to  Rome,  where  he  received 
the  sacred  order  of  priesthood  in  June,  1865.  After  his  ordi- 
nation in  Rome  he  remained  some  time  in  that  city  pursuing 
special  studies  till  his  father's  death  recalled  him  to  his  native 
land.  Entering  on  his  life  as  a  missionary,  the  Rev.  Mr.  North- 
rop was  stationed  at  Aiy^ilmington  and  then  at  New  Berne,  N.  C. 
In  1871  he  was  called  to  Charleston  and  made  assistant  at  the 
cathedral.  There  he  remained  till  1877,  when  he  was  made  pas- 
tor of  St.  Patrick's.  His  piety,  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  his 
priestly  duties,  and  his  skill  in  management  of  affairs  led  to  his 
election  as  Bishop  of  Rosalia  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  North  Ca- 
rolina in  1881.  Re  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  Balti- 
more by  Archbishop  Gibbons  on  the  8th  of  January,  1882.  He 
earned  on  the  good  work  so  successfully  begun  in  that  State  by 
Archbishop  Gibbons,  but  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Lynch  he  was, 
by  a  brief  of  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  translated,  on  the  27th  of  January, 
1883.  to  the  see  of  Charleston,  still  remaining  administrator 
of  North  Carolina.  He  has  17  priests  with  26  churches  and 
chapels  in  South  Carolina ;  and  9  priests  attending  20  churches 
and  chapels  in  the  North  State.  The  Catholic  population  of 
South  Carolina  is  about  10,000,  that  of  North  Carolina  2,200. 

There  were,  in  1891,  in  the  diocese  of  Charleston,  14  priests,  3 
seminarians,  27  churches  and  chapels,  7  parochial  schools,  and 
over  8,000  adherents. 


DIOCESE  OF  CLEVEL4ND. 


ii 

RIGHT  REV.  AMADEUS  RAPPE, 

First  Bishop  of  Clevela/tid. 

Amadeus  Rappe  was  born  in  the  diocese  of  Airas,  France,  on 
February  2,  1801,  and  enjoyed  so  few  educational  advantages  that 
he  began  life  as  a  shepherd  boy.  He  possessed  talent  and  am- 
bition, and  acquired  an  education.  After  his  ordination  he  came 
to  America  and  joined  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati  about  1840. 
He  was  assigned  to  laborious  missions — Delaware,  Pikestown,  and 
Portsmouth — but  soon  had  charge  of  St.  Joseph's,  Maumee,  with 
Manhattan,  Providence,  Napoleon,  and  Defiance  as  stations.  By 
1845  he  had  churches  at  Providence  and  Defiance.  Soon  after 
he  obtained  as  assistant  the  Rev.  Louis  de  Goesbriand,  now 
Bishop  of  Burlington,  the  two  priests  living  at  Toledo  and  at- 
tending all  the  Catholics  in  the  valley  of  the  Maumee.  When 
the  portion  of  Ohio  lying  north  of  latitude  40°  41'  was  erected 
into  a  separate  diocese  in  1847,  with  a  see  at  Cleveland,  the 
energy  and  zeal  of  Rev.  Mr.  Rappe  induced  his  selection  to  wear 
the  mitre.  He  was  consecrated  bishop  of  Cleveland  at  Cincin- 
nati on  the  10th  of  October,  1847.  His  diocese,  when  he  took 
possession  of  it,  contained  about  twenty-five  thousand  Catholics, 
having  thirty-four  churches  attended  by  twenty-eight  priests, 
including  some  Fathers  of  the  Precious  Blood.  Some  Sisters  of 
the  same  rule  maintained  an  academy.  Trained  as  a  hard-work- 
ing missionary,  he  labored  to  give  his  flock  more  priests  and 
churches,  establishing  a  theological  seminary  at  an  early  date. 
In  1850  he  founded  an  orphan  asylum  and  introduced  Sisters 
of  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine  to  direct  an  hospital  at  Cleveland. 
The  next  year  the  Ursulines  opened  an  academy  in  the  same 
city,  and  in  a  few  years  others  at  Toledo  and  Tifl&n.  St.  John's 
College,  succeeded  by  a  Preparatory  Seminary,  was  founded  in 


:Tja-K. 


&06 


THB  OATBOLIO  HIERAROBT  IN  THE  UmTBD  8TATBS. 


1864.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  (Madame  d'Youville^s)  came  the 
next  year.  Then  Brothers  of  Mary  and  Brothers  of  the  Holy 
Gross.  Next  the  Sisters  of  the  Humility  of  Maiy  in  1868,  and 
in  thd  following  year  the  Franciscans  at  Cleveland,  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  at  Toledo,  all  came  to  labor  among  the  Catholics  of 
his  diocese,  who  had  by  1870  increased  to  the  number  of 
one  hundred  thousand.  The  84  churches  and  28  priests  were 
represented  by  107  priests  and  100  churches.  The  schools  in 
the  diocese  of  Cleveland  numbered  ninety,  and  charitable  insti- 
tutions abounded ;  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Little  Sisters 
of  the  Poor,  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Poor  directing  institutions 
for  the  care  of  the  sick  aAd  (erring.  Bishop  Ruppe  had  built  up 
the  diocese,  and  might  have  expected  in  his  declining  years  to 
enjoy  a  happy  old  age  amid  the  clergy  and  people  whom  he  had 
guided  as  a  faithful  pastor  for  twenty  years ;  but  this  was  not  to 
be.  An  ungrateful  opposition  sprang  up,  calumny  assailed  even 
the  venerable  bishop,  who  with  a  broken  heart  resigned  his  see 
on  the  2 2d  of  Axigust,  1 870,  and  retired  to  the  diocese  of  his 
good  friend  Bishop  de  Goesbriand,  of  Burlington.  There  he  re- 
sumed his  old  missionary  life,  laboring  assiduously  among  the 
people,  giving  missions  and  retreats,  and  earnestly  advocating 
the  cause  of  temperance.  He  died  piously  at  St.  Alban's,  Ver- 
mont, on  the  8th  of  September,  1877.  Cleveland  claimed  the 
remains  of  her  first  bishop,  which  were  conveyed  to  that  city 
and  inten'ed  with  all  the  honor  due  to  his  life  and  services. 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  GILMOUR, 

Second  Bishop  of  Cleveland.  , 

RiOHABD  GiLMouB  was  bom  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  on  the 
28th  of  September,  1824,  of  a  family  of  stanch  Covenanters. 
When  four  years  of  age  his  parents  emigrated  to  Nova  Scotia,  and 
a  few  yeare  later  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  When  young  Gil- 
mour  was  about  nineteen  he  one  Sunday  entered  a  Catholic 
church  some  five  miles  from  his  home,  and  was  so  struck  by  the 


DIOOBSB  OF  OLBYBLAMD. 


907 


services. 


sermon  lie  heard  and  by  the  devotion  of  the  people  that  he 
began  to  read,  and,  corresponding  to  the  grace  of  God,  became  a 
Catholic.  Resolving  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
altar,  Mr.  Gilmour  entered  ^  Mount  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Em- 
mittsburg,  Md.,  and  was  ordained  priest  by  Archbishop  Pm^> 
cell,  August  80,  1852.  He  was  first  appointed  to  missions  in 
southern  Ohio — Portsmouth,  Ironton,  Gallipolis,  Wilkesville — 
laboring  for  five  years  to  give  every  mission  a  church  and  a 
school.  When  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Cin- 
cinnati, in  1857,  he  set  to  work  to  erect  a  school-house,  and  in 
time  had  the  finest  building  of  the  kind  in  the  State.  !No  one 
took  a  more  active  part  towards  advancing  Catholic  education 
than  Rev.  Mr.  Gilmour.  Besides  his  labors  in  building  schools, 
he  compiled  "  School  Recreations,'!  a  collection  of  songs  and  hymns, 
a  Bible  History,  and  a  series  of  readera.  After  being  assigned 
to  a  professor's  chair  in  the  seminary  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  of 
the  West,  Rev.  Mr.  Gilmour  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's 
Church,  Dayton,  and  there  at  once  prepared  the  plans  for  a 
school-house.  On  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Rappe  the  bishops  of 
the  province  of  Cincinnati  nominated  this  zealous  priest  for  the 
see  of  Cleveland,  and  he  was  elected  to  it  on  the  15th  of  Febru- 
aiy,  1872,  and  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  of  April  in  the  ca- 
thedral of  Cincinnati  by  Archbishop  Purcell.  From  his  en- 
trance into  his  diocese  Bishop  Gilmour  advanced  Catholic  inte- 
rests with  all  the  activity  and  energy  of  his  nature.  Catholic 
education  was  made  paramount,  and,  to  defend  the  interests  and 
principles  of  the  Church  against  the  bigots  who  swarmed  in  that 
part  of  the  State,  he  founded  the  Catholic  Unvveraey  a  journal 
so  ably  conducted  that  it  soon  became  one  of  the  ablest  pa. 
pers  of  the  country.  The  increase  of  Catholic  churches  and 
schools  excited  the  bitterest  feelings,  and  the  advocates  of  the 
Protestant  system  of  public  schools  attempted  to  hamper,  if 
not  crush,  them  by  heavy  taxation.  Bishop  Gilmour  met  them 
in  the  courts  and  won  a  complete  victory.  The  Catholics  of 
the  diocese,  roused  to  the  importance  of  preserving  the  faith  in 
their  families,  ai'e  active  and  alert.  At  the  close  of  the  year 
1884  the  population  of  the  diocese  of  Cleveland  was  estimated  at 
U0,000|  the  f^nuu^  baptisms  at  7^965;  the  average  number  pf 


I'      s 


908 


THI  OATROUO  HIIIUROHT  IN  TRB  UHITID  BTATIt. 


children  attending  the  128  parochial  schools  is  20,000.  One  hun- 
dred and  eighty-seven  priests  attend  225  churches,  21  chapels,  and 
71  stations;  and  a  theological  seminary,  with  flfty-two  semi- 
narians, promises  priests  to  fill  vacancies  and  continue  the  work 
of  the  ministry. 

Bishop  Oilmour  died  at  St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  April  18, 1891, 
after  faithfully  serving  the  Church  in  his  diocese  for  nineteen 
years.  ,  ' 

The  diocese  of  Cleveland  presents  the  following  statistics  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1891:  priests,  208;  seminarians,  48; 
churches,  229;  chapels  apd  stations,  94;  parochial  schools,  127, 
with  26,492  pupils;  and  an  estimated  Catholic  population  of 
209,825;  annual  baptisms,  8,874. 


DIOCESE  OF  COirMBUS. 


MGHT  REV.  SYLVESTER  H.  ROSECRANS^ 

Mrst  Bishop  of  Columbus, 

Stlvbstxb  Horton  Roseorans  was  born  in  Homer,  Licking 
County,  Ohio,  February  5, 1827,  his  parents,  Crandall  and  Johanna 
ilosecranu,  of  Wilkenbarre,  Pennsylvania,  being  both  Protes* 
tants.  Stephen  Hopkins,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  was  one  of  his  maternal  ancestors.  While  a 
student  at  Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  young  Rosecrans  received  a 
letter  from  his  brother,  then  an  officer  in  the  United  States 
Army  and  professor  at  West  Point,  announcing  his  conversion 
to  the  Catholic  faith,  and  giving  his  reasons  for  the  grave  step. 
Sylvester  too  examined,  prayed,  and  was  convinced.  He  was 
received  into  the  Church,  and  completed  his  university  course  at 
St.  John's  College,  Fordham.  Bishop  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  re* 
ceived  him  as  a  seminarian,  and  sent  him  to  Rome  to  ntudy  at 
the  Propaganda.  After  his  ordination  in  1852  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  St.  Thomas'  Church,  Cincinnati,  but  was  soon  made 
assistant  at  the  cathedral.  There  for  seven  years  he  discharged 
his  duties  as  a  missionary  priest,  besides  giving  his  daily  afftend- 
ance  as  a  professor  in  the  theological  seminary.  One  night, 
returning  from  the  seminary,  he  was  attacked  by  two  ruffians 
and  received  a  pistol-ball  in  his  body.  Without  informing  any 
one  on  reaching  the  house,  he  attempted  to  extract  the  ball,  but 
was  discovered  and  a  surgeon  summoned.  From  1859  to  1861 
he  was  president  of  a  college  connected  with  the  seminary,  and 
edited  the  CathoHc  Telegraph.  In  1862  he  was  appointed  Bishop 
of  Pompeiopoli^  and  Auxiliary  of  Cincinnati,  and  was  conse* 
crated  by  ArciiOishop  Pwr^Ml  on  the  feast  of  jthe  Annunciation. 
For  six  years  Bishop  Robeorans  continued  to  aid  the  venerable 
archbishop  in  the  affairs  of  the  diocese  in  which  he  was  so  wel} 


210 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIEBABOHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


known.  On  the  election  of  the  Bev.  Mr.  Fitzgerald  to  the  see 
of  Little  Rock,  Dr.  Ropecrans  assumed  the  pastorship  of  St.  Pat. 
rick's  Church,  Columbus,  and  a  few  months  afterwards  the  dio- 
cese of  Columbus  was  created.  It  embraced  the  part  of  the 
State  south  of  40"  41',  and  lying  between  the  Ohio  and  Scioto 
rivers,  as  well  as  the  counties  of  Franklin,  Delaware,  and  Mor- 
row. The  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Rosecrans  became  Bishop  of  Colum- 
bus March  3,  1 868.  The  portion  of  the  State  thus  assigned  to 
his  exclusive  care  contained  about  forty  churches  and  as  many 
priests,  with  forty  thousand  Catholics.  St.  Joseph's,  with  its 
Dominican  convent,  the  cradle  of  Catholicity  in  Ohio,  was  in 
his  diocese.  At  Columbus  there  were  three  Catholic  churches, 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  of  Notre  Dame,  and  Franciscan 
Sisters  of  the  Poor,  the  first  organization  of  the  faithful  dating 
back  to  1833.  Soon  after  the  erection  of  the  see  the  Dominican 
Sisters,  aided  by  two  charitable  gentleman,  erected  their  aca- 
demy of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Springs  near  Columbus.  Bishop 
Rosecrans  soon  began  the  erection  of  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral  near 
the  State  House,  and  made  it  the  most  substantial  and  imposing 
edifice  in  the  capital  of  the  State.  In  1871  St  Aloysius' Semi- 
nary for  young  men,  erected  by  his  ejfforts,  was  opened  for 
scholars.  Bishop  Rosecrans  fixed  on  the  20th  of  October,  1878, 
for  the  consecration  of  his  cathedral,  and  the  solemnity  was  at- 
tended by  eight  bishops  and  some  fifty  priests.  In  the  after- 
noon, about  the  time  of  Vespers,  he  was  seized  with  a  hemor- 
rhage, and,  though  medical  aid  was  summoned,  it  was  soon  evi- 
dent that  the  case  was  hopeless.  After  receiving  the  last  sacra- 
ments Bishop  Rosecrans  expired  on  Monday,  the  21st,  the  next 
solemn  funijtion  in  the  cathedral  being  his  own  funeral  rites. 

Bishop  Rosecrans  was  a  man  of  solid  learning  and  an  active 
administrator.  In  life  he  was  simple,  averse  to  all  ostentation, 
living  at  the  orphan  asylum,  and  making  the  fatherless  his 
companions. 

The  diocese  during  his  episcopate  did  not  increase  greatly 
in  the  number  of  Catholics,  but  he  left  52  priests,  77  churches, 
and  28  parochial  schools,  with  hospitals  and  asylums  for  the 
fifty  thousand  Catholics  under  his  caie, 


DIOOBSB  OF  COLUMBn& 


918 


RIGHT  REV.   JOHN  AMBROSE  WA^TERSON, 

Second  Bishop  of  Colvmbvs, 

Zoss  Ambbosb  Wattebson  was  born  at  Blairsville,  Indiana 
County,  Pennsylvania,  May  27,  1844.  At  an  early  age  he  was 
sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's,  Emmittsburg,  in  which  time-honored 
institution  he  was  graduated  in  1865.  After  pursuing  theological 
studies  there  he  was  ordained  priest  at  St.  Vincent's  Abbey  by 
Bishop  Domenec,  August  8,  1868.  By  permission  of  his  bishop 
he  returned  to  Emmittsburg  and  became  a  member  of  the  facul- 
ty of  his  Alma  Mater.  In  October,  1877,  he  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed the  Rev.  John  McCloskey,  D.D.,  as  president  of  the  college, 
and  on  the  24th  of  June  following  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Di- 
vinity was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  faculty  of  Georgetown 
College.  He  was  selected  in  1880  to  succeed  Bishop  Rosecrans 
in  the  see  of  Columbus,  and,  even  before  his  consecration,  was 
called  upon  to  grapple  with  the  financial  difficulties  of  the  dio- 
cese to  which  he  had  been  called.  He  was  consecrated  on  Sun- 
day, August  8,  18?<0,  in  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  Columbus,  by  the 
Right  Rev.  William  H.  Elder,  administrator  of  Cincinnati.  As 
he  passed  out  of  the  sanctuary  he  stepped  aside  to  raise  his  con- 
secrated hands  in  benediction  over  the  head  of  the  mother  who 
had  taught  him  his  first  prayer  to  God. 

The  diocese  of  Columbus  is  a  compact  one,  increasing  by 
natural  growth  rather  than  by  immigration.  Feeling  that  the 
future  of  his  flock  depends  on  the  education  of  the  young.  Bish- 
op Watterson,  who  had  so  long  been  engaged  in  training  youth, 
had  by  the  close  of  1884  established  a  Catholic  college  at  Co- 
lumbus, and  has  besides  three  academies,  thirty-two  parochial 
schools  attended  by  6,4  s  2  children — a  very  large  proportion  out 
of  a  population  which  the  parish  "reports  fixed  at  50,500,  the  ai^- 
nual  baptisms  being  2,291. 

There  were,  in  this  diocese,  in  1891 :  priests,  88;  seminarians, 
13;  churches,  94;  chapels  and  stations,  37;  parochial  schools,  37, 
with  7,322  pupils;  and  a  Catholic  population  of  54,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  COVINGTON. 


RIGHT  REV.  GEORGE  A.  CARRELL, 

Mrst  Bishop  of  GovingUm. 

Geoboe  Aloysii^s  Gabbell  was  bom  in  tlie  Penn  mansion, 
Philadelphia,  June  13,  18,03,  of  a  family  that  had  settled  in  that 
city  before  the  Revolutionary  War.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  was 
sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's,  but  was  graduated  at  Georgetown.  He 
then  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus,  but  completed  his  theological 
courae  at  Mount  St.  Mary's,  and  was  ordained  in  Philadelphia  in 
1829.  After  being  assistant  at  St.  Augustine's,  in  that  city,  at- 
tending missions  in  New  Jersey,  and  afterwards  pastor  of  Holy 
Trinity,  he  was  stationed  at  Wilmington,  Delaware.  There  for 
several  years  he  effected  great  good,  establishing  an  academy 
and  a  school  on  a  solid  basis.  Having  been  admitted  to  the  So- 
ciety of  Jesus,  he  was  appointed  professor  in  the  University  of 
Bt  Louis,  and  subsequently  president  of  that  institution,  and  at 
a  later  date  of  one  near  Cincinnati.  When  the  eastern  part  of 
Kentucky  was  formed  into  a  diocese,  with^a  see  at  Covington,  Fa- 
ther Carrell  was  elected  to  it,  July  29,  1853,  and  received  con- 
secration on  All  Saints'  Day.  The  district  was  large,  but  con- 
tained only  ten  churches  and  seven  priests.  His  first  care  was  to 
meet  the  wants  of  his  flock,  especially  by  giving  them  schools ; 
for  this  purpose  he  introduced  the  Ursuline,  Benedictine,  and 
Visitation  Nuns,  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
of  St.  Francis.  Self-denying  and  laborious.  Bishop  Carrell  lived 
to  gather  thii-ty-three  priests  in  his  diocese,  to  see  forty-two 
churches  and  many  stations  attended  by  them.  The  Benedictine 
Fathers  came  to  minister  to  the  Germans,  Rev.  Dom  Louis  M. 
Fink  being  prior.  Though  Kentucky  was  the  scene  of  many 
military  operations  during  the  Civil  War,  the  diocese  of  Coving- 
ton was  spared  much  of  the  horrors,  -and  religion  steadily  ad- 

.14 


DI00B8B  OF  OOVmOTON. 


210 


yanced.  Bishop  Garrell  lived  to  repair  to  some  extent  the  evil 
caused  by  the  war.  He  died  on  the  25th  of  September,  1868, 
ttfter  having  long  endured  with  cheerful  patience  the  sufferings 
caused  by  a  complication  of  diseases. 


RIGHT  REV.  AUGUSTUS  MARY  TOEBBE, 

Second  Bishop  of  Covington. 

Augustus  Mabt  Toebbe  was  born  on  the  l7th  of  January, 
1829,  at  Meppen,  in  the  kingdom  of  Hanover.  After  passing 
through  the  Gymnasium  in  that  place  he  began  to  prepare  for 
commercial  life,  but  his  pious  inclinations  led  him  to  seek  to 
serve  God  in  the  ecclesiastical  state.  To  this  end  he  came  to 
America  in  1852,  and  entered  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Cincinnati. 
He  was  ordained  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  September  14,  1854, 
and  assigned  to  a  laborious  district  extending  from  Columbia  to 
Ripley.  Here  he  labored  night  and  day  with  the  utmost  zeal 
till  January,  1857,  when  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Boniface's 
Church,  Cumminsville ;  after  about  a  year's  duty  here  Rev.  Mr. 
Toebbe  became  rector  of  St.  Philomena's  Church  in  Cincinnati. 
Esteemed  as  a  learned  no  less  than  a  zealous  priest,  he  was  one 
of  the  theologians  at  the  First  Plenary  Council.  On  the  27th 
of  September,  1869,  bulls  issued  naming  Rev.  Mr.  Toebbe  to 
the  see  of  Covington,  and  he  was  consecrated  on  the -9th  of 
January,  1870,  in  St.  Philomena's  Church,  by  Bishop  Rosecrans. 
On  taking  possession  of  his  see  Bishop  Toebbe  gave  his  attention 
to  those  Catholics  who,  isolated  from  churches,  neglected  their 
duties  and  were  overlooked.  By  this  good  work  he  rescued 
many,  and,  inspiring  parents  with  a  zeal  for  the  salvation  of 
their  children,  saved  another  generation.  Under  his  prudent 
and  careful  direction  churches  increased,  and  the  clergy  emu- 
lated his  zeal.  He  visited  Rome  in  1878,  returning^  by  way  of 
Germany,  France,  and  Ireland.  On  the  14th  of  September, 
1879,  he  celebrated  the  silver  jubilee  of  his  priesthood,  and 


S16 


TBB  CATHOLIC  BlBBAROflT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


two  days  after  opened  his  Diocesan  Synod.  He  introduced  the 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 
His  life  was  one  of  labor,  privation,  and  prayer.  He  lived  to 
see  fifty -two  churches  in  his  diocese  for  his  forty  thousand  Ca- 
tholic souls,  attended  by  fifty-six  priests,  with  orphan  and  found- 
ling  asylums,  a  hospital,  and,  best  of  all,  thirty-five  parochial 
schools.    He  died,  universally  regretted,  May  2,  1884. 


^\"^■ 


RIGHT  REV.  CAMILLUS  PAUL  MAES,        4 

,  Third  Bishop  of  Covington.  >,- 

The  third  Bishop  of  Covington,  Right  Rev.  Camillus  Paul 
Maes,  is  a  native  of  Belgium,  born  at  Couii;rai,  in  West  Flanders, 
March  13,  1846.  He  made  his  classical  studies  in  the  college  of 
his  native  city,  and  entered  the  seminary  at  Bruges  to  prepare 
for  the  priesthood.  Desirous,  however,  of  devoting  himself  to  the 
onissions  in  this  country,  he  proceeded  to  the  American  College 
at  Louvain,  where  he  completed  his  theological  course  and  was 
ordained  for  the  diocese  of  Detroit,  December  18,  1868.  On  his 
arrival  in  Michigan  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Peter's,  Mount  Cle- 
mens ;  and,  after  two  years'  service  there,  was  assigned  to  Monroe, 
one  of  the  oldest  seats  of..  Catholicity.  Here  he  became  pastor 
of  St.  Mary's  Church  in  1871,  and  two  years  later  of  St.  John's. 
In  this  city  he  was  soon  known  as  a  learned  and  studious  priest, 
full  of  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  his  ministry,  and  devoted  to 
everything  that  bore  on  education  and  charity.  His  leisure  was 
given  to  study,  and  he  became  greatly  interested  in  the  early 
history  of  the  Church  in  this  country.  He  obtained  a  mass  of 
papers  relating  to  the  Rev.  Charles  Nerinckx,  a  Belgian  priest 
who  labored  as  a  sajnt  on  the  Kentucky  mission  and  founded 
the  Sisters  of  Loretto ;  but  they  were  given  to  him  on  condition 
that  he  should  write  the  life  of  that  pioneer  priest.  His  work 
is  one  of  the  most  thorough  and  interesting  in  the  Catholic 
libraries.    In  1880  Rev.  Mr.  Maes  became  secretary  to  Bishop 


STATES. 

e  introduced  the 
of  Notre  Dame. 
3r.  He  lived  to 
rty  thousand  Ca- 
rphan  and  found- 
ty-five  parochial 
2,  1884. 


■  ;\"  o 


DIOOBSB  OF  GOVINOTON. 


917 


Borgess,  and  in  that  capacity  he  organized  the  collections  for  the 
support  of  the  diocesan  seminary  and  rendered  essential  services 
in  every  department  of  administration. 

In  September,  1884,  he  was  elected  to  the  see  of  Covington, 
and  attended  the  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  After  its  close 
he  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  at  Covington  by  Arch* 
bishop  Elder,  of  Cincinnati,  assisted  by  Bishop  Borgess  of  De* 
troit  and  Bishop  McCloskey  of  Louisville,  on  the  25th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1886. 


MAES, 


V.  Camillus  Paul 

n  West  Flanders, 

in  the  college  of 

ruges  to  prepare 

ing  himself  to  the 

Lmerican  College 

il  course  and  was 

8,  1868.     On  his 

eter's,  Mount  C  le- 

jigned  to  Monroe, 

e  became  pastor 

ter  of  St.  John's. 

studious  priest, 

and  devoted  to 

His  leisure  was 

;ed  in  the  early 

ained  a  mass  of 

a  Belgian  priest 

on  and  founded 

him  on  condition 

riest.     His  work 

in  the  Catholic 

etary  to  Bishop 


DIOCESE  OF  DAVENPORT. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  MoMULLEN, 

Fi/rat  Bishop  of  Dwvemport. 

John  MoMullen  was  born  ou  the  8tli  of  March,  1833,  at 
Ballinahinch,  County  Down,  Ireland.  When  he  was  in  his 
fourth  year  his  family  emigrated  to  Canada,  but  finally  settled  at 
Chicago.  There  John  was  graduated  from  St.  Mary's  College  in 
1853,  and,  proceeding  to  Rome,  studied  in  the  Urban  College. 
He  was  ordained  in  1858  and  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Luke's,  but 
took  an  active  part  in  erecting  churches  on  the  suburbs  of  (  hi- 
cago.  He  was  president  of  the  University  of  St.  Mary's  of  the 
Lake  for  four  years,  and  was  then  for  three  years  professor  of 
Hebrew  and  philosophy  at  the  seminary.  In  October,  1870,  he 
was  named  pastor  of  the  cathedral,  and  in  1877  vicar-general  of 
the  diocese.  During  the  illness  of  Bishop  Duggan  his  position 
was  one  of  difficulty  and  trial,  and  he  appealed  to  Rome  before 
it  was  generally  recognized  that  the  unfortunate  bishop  was  not 
responsible.  On  the  death  of  Bishop  Foley  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mo- 
Mullen  became  administrator  of  the  diocese,  but  in  July,  18^1, 
the  pope  selected  him  to  fill  the  important  see  of  Davenport. 
He  was  consecrated  bishop  on  July  25,  1881.  His  incessant 
toil  in  making  the  visitations  of  his  diocese,  during  which  he  con- 
filmed  six  thousand  persons,  and  his  endeavors  to  meet  all  the 
wants  which  he  discovered,  broke  down  his  health,  and  physi- 
cians, unable  to  decide  what  his  malady  really  was,  recommend- 
ed a  change  of  climate.-  After  a  short  stay  at  Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia, Bishop  McMullen  returned  to  Davenport,  where  he  was 
soon  prostrated  again,  cancer  in  the  stomach  having  declared 
itself.  Incessant  care  and  anxiety,  with  litigation  which  he 
found  necessary,  had  told  fatally  on  his  constitution.  He  lin- 
gered for  a  few  months,  bearing  his  sufferings  with  heroic  firm- 

»19 


DI00E8I  OF  DAYENPORI. 


S19 


neas.  Fortified  by  all  the  sacraments,  Bishop  McMullen  expired 
at  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  July  4,  1883.  From  his  en- 
trance into  the  diocese  Dr.  McMullen  had  won  the  esteem*  of 
the  Protestant  community  and  the  loving  veneration  of  his  own 
flock  for  his  life-long  devotion  to  works  of  piety  and  charity. 


■ii 


RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  COSGROVE, 

>-y'^%-.-!       Second  Bishop  of  Da/venport.        • 

Henry  Cosqbove  was  born  in  Williamsport,  Pa.,  on  the  19th 
of  December,  1834.  His  parents,  John  and  Bridget  Cosgrove, 
had  emigrated  to  this  country  some  years  before,  but,  when  their 
son  was  eleven  yeai*s  of  age,  removed  to  the  West  and  settled 
at  Dubuque.  There  Henry  was  rften  an  acolyte  in  the  cathe- 
dral when  Bishop  Loras  officiated,  and  when  he  was  fifteen 
he  began  his  studies  for  the  priesthood  under  Very  Rev.  Mr. 
Cretin.  After  going  through  his  higher  and  theological  course 
at  St.  Mary's,  Perry  County,  and  the  seminary  at  Carondelet, 
Henry  Cosgrove  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Smythe,  being  the  first 
to  receive  holy  orders  at  his  hands.  On  the  6th  of  September, 
1857,  eleven  days  after  his  ordination,  the  young  priest  was  sent 
to  Davenport  as  assistant  to  Rev.  A.  Travis,  of  St.  Marguerite's ; 
but  for  a  year  he  was  in  full  charge,  the  pastor  being  absent  in 
Europe.  In  1 862  he  became  pastor,  and  proceeded  to  make  his 
church  and  school  meet  the  wants  of  the  large  congregation 
that  had  grown  up  in  the  parish.  In  1866  he  enlarged  the 
church,  and  in  1869  erected  a  large  and  handsome  brick  school- 
house.  Ever  devoted  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  flock,  the 
-Rev.  Mr.  Cosgrove  found  them  equally  devoted  to  him  and 
ready  to  carry  out  all  his  projects.  On  the  28th  of  August, 
1882,  they  surprised  him  by  a  celebration  of  his  silver  jubilee, 
many  of  the  priests  of  the  diocese  joining  in  the  popular  ova- 
tion. When  Dr.  McMullen  was  made  bishop  he  selected  St. 
Marguerite's  Church  as  his  cathedral,  and  appointed  Rev,  Mr, 


220 


TOB  OATHOUO  ElVfLABOnY  IN  TBB  UNITBD  STATBS; 


Cosgrove  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  In  that  position  he  gave 
Bishop  McMullen  most  important  and  constant  aid.  Recog- 
nizing this,  and  regarding  him  as  one  of  the  most  devoted  and 
useful  priests  in  the  West,  Bishop  McMullen  left  a  sealed  let- 
ter to  be  opened  after  his  death,  in  which  the  Very  Rev.  Henry 
Cosgrove  was  appointed  administrator  secle  vacante.  The  bishops 
of  the  province  proposed  him  to  the  Holy  See  as  successor  of 
Bishop  McMullen,  and  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  almost  unani- 
mously solicited  his  appointment  The  Holy  Father  issued  the 
bulls,  and  he  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  day  of  September,  1884, 
and  as  Bishop  of  Davenport  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Coun- 
cil. Bishop  Cosgrove  was  the  first  native  of  the  United  States 
who  has  filled  a  see  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  His  diocese 
in  the  commencement  of  the  year  1885  contained  seventy-nine 
priests,  who  had  under  their  care  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
churches.  The  Catholic  population  had  been  estimated  in  1883 
at  45,690,  and  in  1 885  there  were  nearly  five  thousand  children 
in  the  Catholic  parochial  schools. 

The  diocese  of  Davenport  contained,  in  1891,  the  following, 
viz. :  93  priests,  18  seminarians,  143  churches,  47  chapels  and  sta- 
tions, 34  parochial  schools  with  3,940  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  51,750. 


■^■■j--::)X,'^ 


'■    '-■•    •      +-V--, 


DIOCESE  OF  DETROIT. 


RIGHT  REV.  FREDERIC  Rl&Sfi, 

Mrat  B'Uhap  of  Detroit. 

Fredebio  Risi  was  born  at  Hildesheim,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Hanover,  in  1797,  and  during  the  wars  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion was  drawn  into  the  military  service.  As  a  dragoon  he 
fought  under  Bllicher  at  Waterloo.  With  the  return  of  peace 
he  sought  a  far  different  career.  Proceeding  to  Rome,  he  be- 
came a  student  at  the  College  of  the  Propaganda,  resolved  to  de- 
vote himself  to  the  missions.  His  first  experience  was  in  Africa, 
but  he  soon  selected  the  American  field.  Bishop  Fenwick,  who 
wished  German  priests,  gladly  accepted  him  for  his  state,  and 
he  came  to  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati  with  that  prelate  in  1 826. 
He  entered  on  the  mission  work  with  zeal  and  energy.  As  sec- 
retary he  rendered  great  services  to  the  bishop,  and:  was  sent 
by  him  to  Europe  in  1827  to  obtain  priests  for  his  extended 
diocese.  It  was  due  to  this  urgent  appeal,  especially  in  behalf 
of  the  scattered  German  Catholics  in  the  United  States,  that 
the  Leopold  Society  was  founded  in  Austria.  After  sending 
over  several  priests  and  aid  for  the  missions  the  Rev.  Mr.  R6s6 
returned  to  Ohio  in  1828,  and  resumed  his  work  in  that  State 
and  Michigan.  He  was  soon  made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese ; 
and  when  it  was  resolved  to  erect  Detroit  into  an  episcopal  see, 
no  one  seemed  more  worthy  than  the  zealous  German  priest. 
He  was  consecrated  October  6,  1833,  and  soon  after  took  his 
seat  in  the  Second  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore.  His  dio- 
ceae  comprised  Michigan  and  Northwest  Territory,-  now  Wis- 
consin. It  contained  fourteen  priests  and  some  ten  or  twelve 
churcheis.  Dr.  R6s4  established  a  college  at  Detroit  and  in- 
troduced the  Franciscan  Sisters  known  as  Poor  Clares,  who 
opened  academies  at  Detroit  and  Green  Bay.    He  made  efforts 

MI 


989 


THB  OATHOUO  HIBBAROHT  IN  THl  UIHTID  STATBt. 


to  revive  the  faith  of  the  Catholic  Indians,  and  established 
schools  among  them.  But  his  administration  was  not  on  the 
whole  prosperous;  he  lost  self-control  and  resolved  to  resign 
his  see.  When  the  Third  Provincial  Council  met  in  April,  1837, 
Bishop  R^s^  addressed  the  archbishop  and  his  suffragans,  ten- 
dering his  resignation  of  the  see  of  Detroit,  and  asking  their 
influence  to  have  it  accepted.  He  retained,  however,  the  title 
of  Bishop  of  Detroit,  and,  proceeding  to  Europe,  resided  for 
some  years  in  Rome,  but  in  1848  returned  to  his  native  place, 
where  he  died  December  27,  1871. 


•  ^  -■- 


RIGHT  REV.  PETER  PAUL  LEFEVERE,       .  * 

Biahcp  of  Zela  and  Administrator  of  Detroit. 

Petbb  Paul  Lefevebe  was  born  at  Roulers,  in  the  diocese  of 
Bruges,  April  30,  1804.  After  a  classical  course  in  his  own  Bel- 
gian province  of  West  Flanders  he  studied  the.*' jgy  at  Paris, 
and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1828  and  vv^as  ordained  by 
Bishop  Rosati  at  St.  Louis  in  1831.  He  was  first  stationed  at 
New  Madrid,  but  was  soon  sent  to  the  northern  part  of  Mis- 
souri, his  mission  district  extending  into  Iowa  and  Illinois.  We 
find  the  zealous  Belgian  priest  for  several  years  at  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Salt  River,  Ralls  County,  extending  his  services  to  Pike, 
Lincoln,  Monroe,  Marion,  Lewis,  Clarke,  and  Shelby  counties. 
Ere  long  Rev.  Mr.  Lefevere  was  erecting  churches  at  Cincinnati 
town,  Louisville,  Sandy  Creek,  and  Wyaconda.  In  1 840  he  at- 
tended the  Fourth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian 
of  the  Bishop  of  Vincennes,  and  subsequently  visited  Europe  to 
appeal  for  aid  for  the  missions.  Meanwhile  his  name  had  been 
forwarded  to  Rome  for  coadjutor  to  Bishop  R^s^,  of  Detroit,  and 
administrator  of  the  diocese.  His  bulls  awaited  his  return.  He 
was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Kenrick  in  Philadelphia,  November 
21,  1841.  The  diocese  had  been  for  four  years  without  a  bishop, 
and  contained  twenty  thousand  Catholics,  for  whom  there  were 
■ome  twenty  churches  attended  by  seventeen  priests.    Bishop 


DI00I8S  or  DBTBOIT. 


te,  resided  for 


Lefevere  began  to  restore  order  in  the  long'widowed  diocese. 
In  1844  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  and  dedicated  it  June  29,  1848.  Meanwhile  Wis- 
consin was  taken  from  the  diocese  of  Detroit  in  1844,  when  a  see 
was  erected  at  Milwaukee.  The  State  of  Michigan,  thus  left 
under  his  care,  contained  thirty-seven  churcl^es  and  chapels, 
fourteen  priests,  sixteen  academies  and  schools,  with  several  In- 
dian  missions,  all  with  schools.  In  1845  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
who  already  directed  an  academy,  opened  also  a  hospital ;  the 
next  year  the  bishop  founded  the  theological  seminary  of  St. 
Thomas.  In  1848  the  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary 
opened  an  academy  at  Monroe,  and  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
one  at  Bertrand.  Three  years  after  Bishop  Lefevere  added  to 
the  teaching  orders  in  his  diocese  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  and  the  Christian  Brothers,  who  were  soon  followed  by 
the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  In  1863  the  northern  peninsula  of 
Michigan,  lying  along  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  was 
formed  into  an  apostolic-vicariate.  The  diocese  of  Detroit, 
thus  again  reduced,  contained  sixty  churches,  thirty-four  priests, 
an  ecclesiastical  seminary,  three  academies  for  young  ladies, 
twenty-four  Catholic  schools,  and  an  hospital,  with  a  Catholic 
population  of  85,000.  ' 

Bishop  Lefevere  was  anxious  to  establish  in  Europe  a  semi- 
nary that  would  train  candidates  for  the  American  mission.  The 
project  was  not  generally  supported,  but  he  persevered,  and,  with 
the  aid  of  the  great  Bishop  Spalding,  of  Louisville,  was  able  to 
see  his  plan  carried  into  operation  by  the  establishment  of  the 
American  College  at  Louvain,  which  has  furnished  so  many  ex- 
cellent priests.  He  introduced  the  Redemptorists  once  more  into 
his  diocese,  and  continued  year  by  year  to  improve  the  condition 
of  the  flock  confided  to  him.  After  taking  part  in  the  con- 
secration of  Bishop  Mrak,  February  7,  1869,  Dr.  Lefevere  was 
taken  seriously  sick,  and  expired  on  the  4th  of  March.  During 
Bishop  Lefevere's  long  and  able  direction  of  the  Church  in 
Michigan  Catholicity  had  grown  rapidly  in  the  southern  penin- 
sula, so  that  he  left  eighty  churches  with  eighty-eight  priests  in 
place  of  th^  twenty  churches  and  seventeen  priests  that  he  found 
on  his  arrival.    He  extended  the  system  of  parochial  schools, 


994 


TBk  OATBOLIO  HIKRARCRT  IN  THB  UNITID  8TATI8. 


and  left  a  hospital,  a  house  for  the  insane,  and  orphan  asylums, 
for  a  Catholic  population  estimated  at  160,000. 


RIGHT  REV.  CASPAR  H.  B0RGES8, 

Second  Bishop  of  Detroit. 
Oaspar  Henrt  B0ROE88  was  bom  on  the  1st  of  August,  1826, 
at  Essen,  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Oldenburg.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  In  April,  1889,  in  his  thirteenth  year.  After  hav- 
ing made  the  preliminary  course  of  studies  and  finished  philosophy 
in  St.  Charles's  Seminary,  Philadelphia,  he  entered  St.  Xavier's 
College,  Cincinnati,  in  Octpber,  1845,  and  studied  theology  under 
the  able  professor.  Rev.  L.  Nota,  S.J.  He  was  ordained  by 
Archbishop  Purcell  on  the  8th  of  December,  1848,  and  said 
his  first  Mass  in  the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  He  was 
then  made  pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Holy  Cross  in  Co- 
lumbus. After  ten  years'  service  at  this  church  and  its  mis- 
sioni  the  Rev.  Mr.  Borgess  was  made  rector  of  the  cathedral  of 
Cincinnati  and  chancellor  of  the  diocese.  The  important  func- 
tions thus  imposed  upon  him  he  discharged  for  eleven  years,  till 
the  venerable  Pontiff  Pius  IX.,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1870,  ap- 
pointed him  Bishop  of  Calydon  and  administrator  of  th3  diocese 
of  Detroit.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  24th  of  April,  in  the 
cathedral  at  Cincinnati,  by  Bishop  Rosecrans,  assisted  by  Bish- 
ops Luers  and  Feehan.  The  new  coadjutor  aseumcd  direction  of 
the  diocese,  and  in  December,  1871,  became  by  succession  second 
Bishop  of  Detroit.  Under  bis  able  management  the  Jesuit  Fa- 
thers have  established  a  college  at  Detroit,  and  the  Franciscans 
a  central  house  and  scholasticate ;  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
and  Nuns  of  the  Good  Shepherd  arrived.  Bishop  Borgess  had  at  the 
commencement  of  the  year  1885  79  churches,  104  priests,  a  col- 
lege, 8  academies,  45  parochial  schools  under  Brothers  of  the 
Christian  Schools,  Franciscan  Brothers,  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate 
Heart  of  Mary,  Sist«rs  of  Notre  Dame,  of  St.  Dominic,  of  Chris- 
tian Charity,  Sisters  of  Providence,  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes,  Polish 
Franciscan  Sisters,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  with  more  than 
10,000  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  102,655 — ^the  annual 
baptisms  being  5,346. 


Diooni  OF  DiraoiT. 


SS6 


On  the  6th  of  September,  1886,  the  Diocesan  Preparatory  Sem- 
inary was  opened  in  the  city  of  Monroe. 

The  administration  of  Bishop  Borgess  was  disturbed  by  the 
turbulent  conduct  of  the  congregation  of  a  Polish  church  in  De- 
troit. He  resigned  1  ae  see  on  the  16th  of  April,  1887,  and  took 
up  his  residence  at  Cottage  Grove,  Wayne  Co.,  the  Very  Rev.  Ed- 
ward Joos  becoming  administrator. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  S.  FOLEY,  D.D, 
Third  Bishop  of  Detroit, 

In  1888  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  on  the  resignation  of  Bishop 
Borgess,  elected  to  the  see  of  Detroit  the  Rev.  John  S.  Foley. 

This  clergyman  was  of  a  family  from  Enniscorthy,  Ireland,  his 
grandfather  having  fought  sturdily  at  Vinegar  Hill.  His  parents 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1817,  and  took  up  their  residence  in 
Baltimore,  where  John  S.  was  bom,  on  the  5th  of  November,  1888. 
He  entered  St.  Mary's  College  in  1842,  and  after  a  brilliant  course 
received  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  before  he  was  seventeen. 
Like  his  brother  Thomas,  who  rose  in  time  to  be  Bishop  at  Chicago, 
John  determined  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the  altar.  He 
entered  the  seminary  at  Baltimore,  but  was  subsequently  sent  to 
Rome,  where  he  was  the  first  American  student  at  the  Apollinaris, 
the  Diocesan  Seminary,  Rome.  He  was  ordained  priest  by  Cardinal 
Fatrizi,  November  20,  1856,  and  remained  a  year  in  Rome  to  com- 
plete his  studies  and  win  the  doctor's-  cap.  On  his  return  to  his 
native  diocese  he  was  appointed  to  St.  Bridget's  Church,  Canton, 
attending  Port  Deposit  and  Havre  de  Grace.  In  1857  he  was 
appointed  to  EUicott  City,  Md.,  where  he  remained  six  years. 
Having  been  summoned  to  Baltimore,  he  organized  St.  Martin's 
parish  and  erected  the  church.  Dr.  Foley  has  long  been  regarded 
as  a  man  of  conspicuous  zeal  and  ability,  and  held  important  posi- 
tions in  the  diocese.  At  the  third  Plenary  Council  he  acted  as 
Chancellor. 


-l\ 


DIOCESE  OF  DUBUQUE. 


RIGHT  REV.  MATTHIAS  LORAS, 

Fwat  BiBTwp  of  Dubuque. 

Matthias  Lobas  was  bom  in  Lyons,  France,  in  July,  1792, 
of  a  family  eminent  for  their  piety  and  social  position.  His 
father  fell  a  victim  to  the  infidel  revolutionists  soon  after  his 
birth,  but,  trained  by  his  mother,  young  Matthias  studied  for  the 
priesthood,  and  was  ordained  about  1817.  Notwithstanding  his 
youth  he  was  soon  after  made  supeiior  of  the  seminary  of  Lar- 
genti^re.  and  resigned  the  position  only  to  join  a  band  of  excel- 
lent priests  who  gave  missions  in  the  parishes.  When  Bishop 
Portier,  in  1829,  visited  France  to  seek  missionaries,  Rev.  Mr. 
Loras  offered  his  services  and  reached  Mobile  with  the  bishop 
January  3,  1  's30.  For  seven  years  he  was  pastor  of  the  cathedral 
and  vicar-general  of  the  diocese ;  but  when  the  Holy  See,  on  the 
28th  of  July,  1837,  erected  Iowa  and  Minnesota  into  a  diocese, 
Rev.  Mr.  Loras  was  appointed  the  firat  bishop,  and  was  conse- 
crated by  Bishop  Portier  on  the  10th  of  December.  In  the  dio- 
cese assigned  to  him  there  was  but  one  half-finished  church  and 
one  priest.  Bishop  Loras  proceeded  first  of  all  to  France,  where 
he  obtained  two  priests  and  four  seminarians,  and  with  these 
started  for  Dubuque,  and  was  installed  as  bishop  April  29,  1839. 
He  at  once  began  with  his  few  priests  to  build  churches  and 
schools,  calling  the  Sisters  of  Charity  to  aid  as  teachers.  He 
made  a  thorough  visitation  of  his  diocese,  finding  many  Cana- 
dians and  half-breeds,  whom  he  brought  back  to  their  religious 
duties.  He  also  established  missions  among  the  Sioux,  Foxes, 
and  Winnebagoes.  Under  the  care  of  Bishop  Loras  the  com- 
munity of  Sisters  of  Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  founded  in 

Philadelphia  by  Very  Rev.  T.  C.  Donaghoe,  was  greatly  devel- 

m 


'  ':'m 


228 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


oped,  rendering  essential  service  to  the  diocese  of  Dubuque. 
Bishop  Loras  encouraged  and  guided  Catholic  immigration,  so 
as  to  a£tord  the  incoming  settlers  every  facility  for  practising 
their  religion  and  bringing  up  their  children  in  the  faith.  Thus 
he  built  up  the  Church  by  personal  supervision,  spending  much 
of  his  time  in  going  through  the  diocese,  not  as  on  a  visitation,  but 
personally  beginning  the  erection  of  a  needed  chuich  or  school, 
or  aiding  to  complete  it  for  dedication.  This  work  he  continued 
till  Minnesota  was  formed  into  a  separate  diocese  in  1851.  Be- 
sides this  mission  work  Bishop  Loras  established  a  theological 
eeminary,  introduced  the  Trappist  monks  and  Visitation  nuns. 

Bishop  Loras  sat  in  the  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimoi^  and  the 
^our  preceding  Provincial  Synods. 

In  1857  he  established  a  hospital,  and  during  his  long  career 
was  eminent  for  his  charity  and  love  of  the  poor  and  afflicted. 
How  Catholicity  developed  in  Iowa  under  his  prudent  and  con- 
Htant  supervision  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  in  the  Iowa  part 
of  his  diocese,  where,  upon  his  arri*  al,  he  found  one  priest  and 
one  church,  he  left  sixty  churches,  forty  priests,  several  religious 
orders,  many  academies  for  higher  education,  and  schools  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  54,000. 

His  constant  labors  called  at  last  for  one  to  hold  up  his  hands 
in  his  ministry,  and  in  1857  the  Right  Rev.  Clement  Smyth  was 
consecrated  coadjutor.  In  February  of  the  ensuing  year  Bishop 
Loras  was  stricken  down  with  illness,  and  though  medical  skill 
neemed  at  first  to  control  the  disease,  his  recovery  was  but  delu- 
On  the  18th  of  February  he  retired  to  his  room  in  the 


live. 


evening,  and  was  soon  after  found  insensible  on  the  floor,  stricken 
with  paralysis.  The  good  bishop  lingered  till  the  next  morning, 
when  he  expired. 


DIOCESE  OF  DUBUQUE. 


939 


RIGHT  REV.  CLEMENT  SMYTH, 

Second  JBishop  of  Dubuque. 

TiMOTHT  Smtth  was  born  at  Finlea,  in  the  county  of  Glare 
Ireland,  on  the  24th  of  January,  1810.  After  studjring  in  his 
native  place  and  at  Limerick  he  entered  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
where  he  was  graduated.  Uenouncing  the  pursuits  open  to  him, 
he  joined  the  Presentation  Brothers  at  Youghal,  but,  feeling 
called  rather  to  the  contemplative  than  the  active  life,  he  sought 
admission  among  the  Trappists  at  Mount  Melleray.  His  wish  was 
gratified,  and  he  became  Brother  Clement.  With  the  permission 
of  his  abbot  he  some  years  after  established  a  poor&chool  at  the 
abbey ;  but  though  he  desired  to  remain  a  lay  member^  he  was 
ordered  to  commence  studies  for  the  priesthood.  He  was  or- 
dained in  1844,  and  five  years  later  was  sent  with  a  Brother  to 
found  a  house  of  his  order  in  America,  the  distressed  condition  of 
Ireland  giving  no  hope  of  extension  in  that  island.  Bishop  Loras 
welcomed  the  Cistercians,  and  Father  Smyth  founded  a  New 
Melleray  near  the  city  of  Dubuque.  Church,  monastery,  and  poor- 
school  soon  rose,  and  a  community  of  forty-seven  members  were 
in  time  edifying  all  by  their  strict  monastic  discipline.  The  will 
of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  drew  Father  Smyth  from  his  seclusion, 
and  the  Trappist  prior  wai  consecrated  Bishop  of  Thanasis,  May 
3,  1857.  Assuming  the  duties  with  zeal.  Bishop  Smyth  com- 
pleted the  cathedral  and  was  active  in  visitations  of  the  diocese. 
He  succeeded  Bishop  Loras  in  the  see  of  Dubuque  in  February, 
1858.  Bishop  Smyth  rarely  went  beyond  the  limits  of  his  dio- 
cese, ar^  then  only  at  the  call  of  duty,  as  on  tLd  occasion  of  his 
visit  to  Europe  in  1862.  After  a  short  but  painful  illness,  which 
he  bore  with  Christian  courage,  he  expired  on  the  23d  of  Sep 
tember,  1865. 


.,.|r>rr;,4:' 


-..'■i:--,  l- 


S80  THE  OATHOLIO  HIBR4ROHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  HENNESSY, 


Third  Bi^iop  of  Duhuqiie. 

John  Hbnnbsst  was  bom  in  Ireland,  but  made  this  country 
bis  home,  with  the  high  ambition  of  laboring  to  keep  fresh  in  all 
hearts  the  faith  of  his  ancestors.  He  began  his  labora  as  a  mis- 
sionary piiest  in  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis  in  1850  as  pastor  of  the 
church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  at  New  Madrid,  Mo.,  and  for  a 
few  years  subsequently  of  St.  Peter's  at  Gravois,  in  St.  Louis 
County.  While  still  retaining  this  charge  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hen- 
nessy  was  appointed  professor  of  dogmatic  theology  and  Holy 
Scripture  in  the  theological  seminary  at  Carondelet,  and  in  1857 
became  superior  of  that  institution,  his  learning  and  experience 
fitting  him  for  the  position.  He^  was  subsequently  attached  to 
the  cathedral,  and  towards  the  close  of  the  civil  w:ar  was  pastor 
of  St.  Joseph's  Church  in  the  now  episcopal  city  of  St.  Joseph's. 
Having  been  elected  Bishop  of  Dubuque  on  the  24th  of  April, 
ls66,  he  was  consecrated  on  the  3Uth  of  September  in  that  year. 
The  impoiiiant  diocese  confided  to  Bishop  Hennessy  comprised 
the  whole  State  of  Iowa,  with  a  rapidly  growing  Catholic  popu- 
latio.^  wh*r».h  already  exceeded  a  hundred  thousand  souls,  with 
about  sixty  pries  is  and  seventy-nine  churches. 

Early  in  his  administration  Bishop  Hennessy  founded  the 
Mercy  Hospital  at  Davenport  on  property  secured  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Pelamourgues.  He  endeavored  to  establish  a  college,  but  it  was 
not  till  1873  that  St.  Joseph's  College  was  opened.  It  is  now  in 
a  flourishing  conditlor  ^ 

The  same  vear  the  Fathers  of  the  ancient  order  of  St.  Bene- 
diet,  with  Father  Augustine  Burns  as  superior,  founded  St. 
Malachy's  Priory  at  Creston,  in  Union  County,  the  first  English- 
speaking  community  of  Benedictines  in  the  United  States. 

In  1881  the  diocese,  which  had  increased  greatly,  was  divided, 
and  a  new  see  established  at  Davenport.  The  diocese  of  Dubuque 
thus  reduced  comprised  the  portion  of  the  State  of  Iowa  lying 
north  of  the  counties  of  Harrison,  Shelby,  Audubon,  Guthrie, 
Pallas,  Polk,  Jasper,  Poweshiek,  Iowa,  Johnson,  Cedar,  and  Scott. 


DIOCESE  OF  DUBUQUE. 


281 


By  1884  the  episcopal  city  of  Dubuque  had  a  fiue  cathedral,  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Raphael,  and  twenty-six  other  churches ;  the  Mercy 
Hospital  and  Marine  Hospital,  both  under  the  care  of  the  Sistei's 
of  Mercy ;  an  asylum  for  orphans  of  German  parentage,  St.  Joseph's 
College,  convents  of  Visitation  and  Presentation  nuns  and  of 
Franciscan  Sisters,  with  several  academies  and  parochial  schools. 
The  total  number  of  priests  was  one  hundred  and  fifty,  the 
churches  nearly  equalling  that  number,  giving  the  sixty  thousand 
Catholics  of  the  diocese  every  advantage  for  hearing  Mass  and 
approaching  the  sacraments ;  while  th«  care  of  the  growing  youth, 
on  whose  fidelity  to  the  faith  so  much  depended,  was  evinced  by 
the  fact  that  more  than  seven  thousand  six  hundred  attended 
Catholic  schools.  Bishop  Hennessy  was  one  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884. 

The  United  States  Census  for  1890  reports  in  the  episcopal 
city  of  Dubuque:  37  Catholiy  churches,  and  Church  property 
valued  at  $969,000,  with  21,904  communicants.  The  latest  sta- 
tistics for  the  entire  diocese  are  given  as  follows,  viz. :  184  priests, 
t)0  seminarians,  145  churches,  90  chapels  and  colleges,  54  parochial 
schools  with  6,676  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  100,000. 


y 


.'•■".-.-:■  *•■ 


*- 


*■-':' 


DIOCESE  OF  ERIE. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSUE  M.  YOUNG, 

Second  Bishop  of  Erie. 

Joshua  Moody  Youno  was  born  at  Shapleigh,  Maine,  Octo- 
ber 29,  1808,  and  was  brought  up  in  the  Protestant  doctrines 
which  his  parents  professed.  After  passing  through  the  district 
schools  he  entered  the  printing-offi«e  of  the  Eastern  Argus  at 
Portland  in  1823.  Heve  he  met  a  Catholic,  whom  he  attacked 
in  the  usual  way  on  the  score  of  religion ;  but  he  found  his  fel- 
low-printer to  be  a  man  able  to  give  an  account  of  his  faith,  and 
one  who  lived  up  to  it.  Young  began  to  read  Catholic  books, 
and  the  good  seed  germinated.  After  editing  a  paper  at  Saco 
he  returned  to  Portland  about  the  time  of  Bishop  Fenwick's  visit 
in  1827.  He  sought  through  his  friend  an  introduction  to  the 
bishop,  and  received  a  series  of  instructions  from  that  learned 
prelate.  He  was  baptized  in  1828,  taking  the  name  of  Josue 
Maria,  and  soon  proceeded  to  Cincinnati  with  the  view  of  enter- 
ing the  priesthood.  After  a  time  spent  there  he  was  sent  to 
Mount  St.  Mary's,  and  was  ordained  in  1837.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Young  was  for  seven  years  a  laborious  missionary,  much  of  the 
time  at  Lancaster,  Ohio.  On  the  erection  of  the  see  of  Erie  in 
1852  Bishop  O'Connor  was  appointed  to  the  new  diocese ;  but 
Rev.  Mr.  Young  was  reluctant  to  replace  him  at  Pittsburgh,  and 
Bishop  O'Connor  returned  to  his  former  see.  Rev.  Mr.  Young 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Erie  April  23,  1854,  by  Archbishop 
Purcell,  and  began  to  organize  the  diocese  confided  to  his  care. 
He  founded  an  hospital  at  Erie,  erected  a  fine  school,  which  he 
placed  under  the  charge  of  the  Franciscan  Brothers  and  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph.  Other  academies  and  schools  and  an  infirmary,  as 
well  as  churches,  erected  in  various  parts  of  the  diocese,  proved 
his  activity  and  zeal.    He  was,  too,  an  ai'dent  supporter  of  the 

989 


DI00E8E  OF  ERIE. 


233 


temperance  cause,  and  by  example  and  precept  endeavored  to 
withdraw^  his  flock  from  intoxicating  drinks.  By  his  influence 
all  his  brothers  and  sisters  except  one  embraced  the  Catholic 
faith,  ftlthough  at  first  his  becoming  a  Catholic  and  a  priest 
caused  a  mysterious  horror  in  the  family.  In  the  midst  of  his 
active  administration  Bishop  Young  was  suddenly  stricken  down 
with  heart-disease,  and  survived  only  long  enough  to  receive  the 
last  sacraments  before  his  death,  September  18,  1866. 


M 


RIGHT  REV.  TOBIAS  MULLEN, 
Third  Bishop  of  Erie. 

Tobias  Mullen  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Urney,  County 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  the  youngest  of  the  six  sons  of  James  Mullen 
and  Mary  Travers.  His  earliest  days  were  spent  on  a  farm,  and . 
after  attending  the  schools  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home  he 
made  classical  studies  at  Castlefin.  About  1840  he  was  ex- 
amined with  others  by  Bishop  McLaughlin,  and  passed  so  suc- 
cessfully that  he  was  directed  to  prepare  for  the  Irish  College 
in  Paris.  Before  the  young  man  was  ready  to  start  he  attended 
another  examination  of  all  the  students  of  the  diocese,  and,  pass, 
ing  this  with  honor,  he  was  sent  to  Maynooth.  While  there 
young  Mullen,  with  four  other  students,  having  listened  to  an 
appeal  from  Bishop  O'Connor,  of  Pittsburgh,  they  all  resolved  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  American  missions  under  the  direction 
of  that  prelate.  After  prosecuting  his  theological  studies  for 
some  time  in  Pittsburgh  he  was  ordained  on  the  Ist  of  Septem- 
ber, ls44,  by  Bishop  O'Connor,  and  served  for  about  two  years 
as  assistant  at  the  cathedral  in  Pittsburgh.  Rev.  Mr.  Mullen 
was  afterwards  charged  with  the  care  of  congregations  at  Johns- 
town and  in  Jefferson  County.  Nine  years  after  he  was  appoint- 
ed pastor  of  St.  Peter's,  Allegheny  City.  Here  he  remained 
thirteen  years,  and  for  a  considerable  period  was  vicar-general  oi 
the  diocese  under  Bishop  Domenec. 


w 


A'^  J 


m 


THE  OATHOLIO  HIBRARCHV  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Rev.  Mr.  Mullen  ^\as  appointed  Bishop  of  Erie  on  the  death 
of  Bishop  Young,  and  was  consecrated  August  2,  1868.  The 
development  of  the  oil-springs  discovered  more  than  two  cen- 
turies ago  by  the  Franciscan  De  la  Koche  caused  an  influx  of 
people  into  this  diocese,  bringing  many  Catholics  ;  but  the  popu- 
lation was  not  always  permanent,  and  churches  erected  for  large 
congregations  became  in  a  few  years  scantily  attended.  Yet 
during  the  administration  of  Bishop  Mullen  the  population  has 
increased  from  thirty  to  forty  five  thousand,  and  the  churches 
from  fifty-five  to  eighty-four.  On  his  installation  the  diocese 
had  but  thirty -five  priests ;  it  has  ^ow  sixty  secular  clergymen 
and  seven  Benedictine  Fathers.  The  Congregation  of  the  Most 
Holy  Redeemer  has,  within  a  few  years,  established  a  prepara- 
tory college  at  xVortheast.  There  are  academies  for  young  ladies 
under  Benedictine  nuns,  under  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  paro- 
chial schools  under  their  care  and  that  of  the  Sistera  of  the  Hu 
mility  of  Mary.  There  are  in  the  fifty-eight  parochial  schools 
5,687  pupils.  Besides  this  the  diocese  has  two  hospitals  and  an 
asylum. 

The  numbers  had  increased  in  1 891  to  the  following :  72  priests, 
10  seminarians,  105  churches,  46  chapels  and  stations,  and  60,000 
adherents. 


u 


„.^ 


DIOCESE  OF  r.;j  WAYNE. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  HENRY  LUERS, 

Fi/rat  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne. 

John  Henbt  Luebs  was  born  near  the  city  of  Mtinster,  Ger- 
many. Sepfember  29,  1819,  and  emigrated  with  his  family  to  the 
Unit  i  States  in  1833.  He  was  soon  placed  as  a  clerk  in  a  store 
at  ?iqua,  Ohio ;  but  he  desired  to  become  a  priest.  An  acci- 
dental meeting  with  Bishop  Purcell  encouraged  the  hopes  of  the 
young  man  and  enabled  him  to  enter  the  Lazarist  {Seminary 
of  St.  Francis  Xavier.  He  was  ordained  priest  November  11, 
1846,  and  was  stationed  in  the  parish  of  St.  Joseph,  where  a 
half -finished  church  needed  an  active  hand.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Lues's 
completed  the  sacred  edifice,  and  beside  it  erected  a  substantial 
school-house,  into  which  he  gathered  the  children  of  the  parish 
after  making  a  careful  census.  Here  he  labored  for  years,  seek- 
ing the  salvation  of  his  fiock. 

When  the  see  of  Fort  Wayne  was  ejected  the  Rev.  Mr.  Luers 
was  chosen  bishop,  to  his  own  great  sui^prise,  and  was  conaecrated 
January  10,  1858.  His  diocese  contained  a  small  frame  build- 
ing for  his  cathedral  and  nineteen  other  churches,  attended  by 
fourteen  priests,  though  the  diocese  comprised  thii-ty-eight  coun- 
ties. During  his  administration  a  cathedral  was  erected,  but  he  was 
more  anxious  to  preserve  the  religion  of  his  flock,  and  by  con- 
stant visits  to  parts  where  Catholics  had  settled  he  encouraged 
the  erection  of  parochial  churches.  Bishop  Luers  obtained 
priests  to  meet  their  wants,  and,  holding  a  synod,  established 
sound  regulations.  On  a  visit  to  Rome  in  1864  he  was  commis- 
sioned by  Pope  Pius  IX.  with  the  task  of  drawing  up  ii  constitu- 
tio)i  and  rales  for  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.  The  Congrega- 
tion of  Priests  of  the  Holy  Cross  found  in  him  a  warm  and  ear- 
nest friend,  and  that  community,  under  the  guidance  of  the  vene^ 


•-It 

m 


286 


THB  OATHOLIO  HUBRAROHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


rable  Father  Sorin,  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  mont  important 
bodies  of  regular  priests  in  the  country,  the  University  of  Notre 
Dame  being  one  of  ou/ greatest  Catholic  institutions.  Bishop 
Luers  attended  the  Provincial  Councils  of  Cincinnati  and  the 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  In  June,  1871,  he  went  to  Cleve- 
land to  ordain  some  of  the  seminarians,  and  while  on  his  way  to 
the  episcopal  residence  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  before  taking 
a  train  to  another  diocese,  the  charitable  bishop  was  stricken 
down  with  apoplexy.  He  was  carried  to  the  bishop's  house  and 
expired  a  few  moments  after  receiving  the  last  sacraments. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  DWENGER, 

Second  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne. 

Joseph  Dwenoeb  was  bom  in  1837  at  St  John's,  near  Min- 
ster, Ohio,  of  parents  who  had  recently  emigrated  from  Ankum, 
in  Hanover.  He  lost  his  father  at  the  age  of  three,  and  on  his 
mother  removing  to  Cincinnati  he  was  sent  to  the  school  of  the 
Holy  Trinity.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  lost  his  mother  also,  but 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kunkler  took  the  talented  orphan  boy  and  placed 
him  with  the  Fathers  of  the  Precious  Blood.  Young  Dweuger 
began  his  studies  for  the  priesthood,  and  completed  them  in  the 
Seminary  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West.  He  was  ordained 
priest  in  the  chapel  of  that  institution  by  Archbishop  Purcell  on 
the  4th  of  September,  1859.  How  highly  he  was  esteemed  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  he  was  appointed  professor  and 
director  in  the  seminary  of  the  Precious  Blood,  and  retained  the 
position  for  three  years.  He  was  then  placed  in  charge  of  the 
coi)gregations  at  Wapakoneta  and  St.  Mary's,  and  showed  him- 
self a  zealous  missionary  priest,  ever  anxious  for  the  welfare  of 
his  flock.  He  was  also  secretary  and  consultor  in  his  order,  and 
the  founder  of  the  seminary  at  Carthagena.  From  1867  to  1872 
he  was  employed  in  giving  missions  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  In- 
diana. Having  been  selected  to  succeed  Bishop  Luers,  he  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  assisted  by  Bishops  Toebb« 


DIOOBSB  OF  FORT  WATNB. 


287 


and  Borgess,  on  the  14th  of  April,  1872,  and  was  the  youngest 
member  of  the  hierarchy.  The  development  and  proper  organi- 
zation of  the  parochial  schools  has  been  the  great  object  of  his 
attention.  He  established  a  Diocesan  School  Board,  which  intro- 
duced into  the  schools  uniformity  of  teaching  and  grading  as  well 
as  in  text*books,  and  has  since  exercised  a  wise  supervision  over 
them.  The  reports  are  annually  printed,  and  stimulate  the  faith- 
ful to  support  the  schools.  In  1884  there  were  sixty  schools 
with  eight  thousand  pupils — nearly  nine  per  cent  of  the  total 
OatI  olic  population  of  85,000.  His  diocese  had  also  the  uni- 
versity of  Notre  Dame,  under  the  Priests  of  the  Holy  Cross,  with 
Sisters  of  the  same  origin ;  Priests  and  Sisters  of  the  Precious 
Blood,  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  attending  schools 
and  hospitals,  Poor  Handmaids  of  Christ  similarly  employed, 
Sisters  of  Providence,  and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 

On  tie  occasion  of  the  American  pilgrimage  to  Rome  Bishop 
Dwenger  accompanied  it  as  superior.  In  1883  he  paid  his  official 
visit  to  the  See  '>f  Peter.  He  had  attended  the  Second  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  as  theologian  to  Archbishop  Purcell  and  rep 
resentative  of  the  order  of  the  Precious  Blood ;  and  the  Third  Plen- 
ary Council  as  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne.  After  its  close  he  proceed- 
ed to  Rome  on  important  matters  connected  with  it.  During  his 
episcopate  there  have  been  erected  two  hospitals,  two  orphan  asy* 
lums,  one  manual-labor  school,  and  thirty-two  new  churches. 

In  1891  there  were  in  this  diocese  79  secular  and  42  regular 
priests,  with  20  seminarians  as  candidates  for  the  priesthood ;  126 
churches  and  3  others  in  process  of  building,  also  19  chapels;  64 
parochial  schools,  attended  by  more  than  8,000  pupils ;  2  orphan- 
ages with  214  orphans,  5  hospitals,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
62,125. 


DIOCESE  OF  GALVESTON. 


RIGHT  REV.  CLAUDE  MARY  DUBUIS, 

Second  JBUhop  of  Qaheston, 

Claude  Mart  Dubuis  was  born  in  France  aboat  the  year 
1817.  He  was  one  of  the  early  missionaries  whom  Bishop  Odin 
drew  to  Texas.  He  was  stationed  in  1 847  in  the  difficult  mis- 
sion of  Castroville,  where  he  suffered  greatly,  living  in  a  wretched 
hut  till  he  and  his  fellow-missionary  built  a  house  with  their 
own  hands.  An  accident  for  a  time  placed  his  life  in  danger, 
but  a  constitution  of  iron  enabled  the  zealous  priest  to  endure 
all,  where  others  sank  under  their  trials.  His  associate,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Chazelle,  died  of  typhus,  while  he  himself  was  so  ill 
that  he  was  able  to  say  Mass  only  by  resting  from  time  to  time 
before  he  could  administer  the  Holy  Viaticum  to  his  fellow-priest. 
He  persevered  however,  and  even  established  a  school.  About 
1850  he  was  transferred  to  San  Antonio,  and  was  for  many  years 
pastor  of  San  Ferdinand's  Church,  and,  with  the  aid  of  curates, 
attended  a  large  and  scattered  flock.  Here,  too,  he  showed  zeal 
for  education,  aiding  greatly  the  Ursulines  in  establishing  a  con- 
vent. On  the  promotion  of  Bishop  Odin  to  the  see  of  New 
Orleans  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dubuis  was  chosen  as  his  successor,  and 
was  consecrated  November  23,  1862,  taking  possession  of  his 
see  during  the  difficult  period  when  the  South  was  ravaged  by 
contending  armies.  When  peace  was  restored  Bishop  Dubuis 
endeavored  to  repair  the  losses  which  religion  had  sustained,  and 
by  1874  the  diocese  contained  fifty-five  churches  and  chapels,  with 
eighty-three  priests  and  about  100,000  Catholics.  On  the  3d  of 
September  in  that  year  the  diocese  of  San  Antonio  and  the  vi- 
cariate-apostolic  of  Brownsville  were  created;  but  Bishop  Du- 
buis* health  made  him  solicit  a  coadjutor,  and  the  Right  Rey.  P. 
Diifal^  who  had  been  o.r>nsecrated  Bishop  of  Delcon  i^  1860, and 


DI00B8B  OF  QALVESTON. 


289 


Vicar«Apoitolio  of  Eastern  Bengal,  was  transferred  May  14, 
1878,  to  Texas  as  coadjutor  with  the  right  of  succession;  he  re- 
signed, however,  in  1 880,  but  Bishop  Dubuis  retired  to  France, 
and  the  next  year  resigned  the  see  of  Galveston. 


RIGHT  REV.  NICHOLAS  A.  GALLAGHER, 

Bishop  of  Canopua  and  Administrator  of  Galveston. 

Nicholas  A.  Gallaohek  was  born  at  Temperance ville,  Bel- 
mont County,  Ohio,  on  the  19th  of  February,  1846,  and,  after 
pursuing  literary  and  divinity  studies  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the 
West,  was  ordained  priest  at  Columbus  on  Christmas  day  in  the 
year  1868.  He  was  known  for  many  years  as  a  zealous  and 
talented  priest  of  the  diocese  of  Columbus,  where  his  piety  and 
executive  ability,  as  well  as  his  deyoteduess  to  his  sacred  calling, 
made  him  remarked  by  all.  From  1869  to  1871  he  was  attached 
to  St.  Patrick's  Church,  under  Bishop  Rosecrans,  and  from  it 
attended  the  chapel  of  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral  before  the  sol- 
emn opening  of  that  church  itself.  He  was  next  president  of 
St.  Aloysius'  Seminary  from  1871  to  1876,  and  when  St.  Joseph's 
became  the  bishop's  residence  Rev.  Mr.  Gallagher  was  appoint- 
ed pastor  of  St.  Patrick's.  During  the  vacancy  of  the  see  from 
October,  1878,  to  August,  1880,  he  was  administrator,  and  was  then 
made  vicar-general.  The  Holy  See  selected  this  able  clergyman 
to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  diocese  of  Galveston  as  admin- 
istrator, appointing  him  Bishop  of  Canopus.  He  was  conse- 
crated at  St.  Mary's  College,  Galveston,  on  Sunday,  April  30, 
1882,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Edward  Fitzgerald,  Bishop  of  Lit- 
tle Rock.  He  then  assumed  the  administration  of  the  diocese, 
of  which  Dr.  Dubuis  still  retained  the  title  of  bishop.  During 
the  short  period  since  his  consecration  Bishop  Gallagher,  laboring 
assiduously,  has  done  much  to  restore  order  and  meet  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  diocese  confided  to  him.  In  the  portion  of  Texas 
under  his  charge  there  were  in  1884  forty  priests,  with  fifty 
churches  and  chapels,  and,  as  is  estimated,  some  eight-and-thirty 


240 


THB  CATHOLIC  HIBRARCHT  IN  THE  UNITBP  STATES. 


thousand  Catholics.  There  are  several  female  academies  under 
the  Ursuline  nuns  and  other  religious,  and  two  charitable  in* 
stitutions,  but  much  has  yet  to  be  accomplished  in  the  direction 
of  parochial  schools.  This  task  and  the  keeping  pace  with 
increasing  immigration  make  the  position  of  Bishop  Gallagher 
one  of  trial. 

There  are  reported  for  1891,  in  this  diocese :  49  priests,  at- 
tending 66  churches  and  17 chapels;  16  ecclesiastical  students,  17 
parochial  schools  with  4,148  pupils,  1  college,  12  academies,  and 
3  charitable  institutions,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  42,000. 


':f>':;V_>-V      ,-._ 


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CARDINAL  TASCHEREAU, 

Archbishop  of  Quebec. 


It 


DIOCESE  OF  GRAND  RAPIDS. 


BIGHT  REV.  HENRY  JOSEPH  RICHTER, 
jyirat  Bishop  of  Grand  Jitynda. 

Henby  Joseph  Riohteb  was  born  on  the  9th  of  April,  1888, 
at  Neuen  Kirchen,  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Oldenburg.  After 
studying  in  the  local  schools  he  came  to  the  tJnited  States  in 
1854  and  entered  St.  Paul's  School,  in  Cincinnati,  in  the  succeed- 
ing year.  TL '  -s  followed  by  five  years  of  steady  application 
in  St  Xaviei  Si  !ie  college  at  Bardstown,  and  Mount  St.  Mary's. 
He  went  to  Rome  in  1860,  entering  the  American  College,  and 
winning  his  doctor's  cap  in  1865,  was  ordained  on  the  10th  of 
June  by  Cardinal  Patrizi.  Returning  to  Cincinnati  in  October, 
he  was  made  vice-president  of  Moui^t  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  where 
he  filled  the  chairs  of  dogma,  philosophy,  and  liturgy  till  1870. 
He  then  founded  the  church  of  St.  Laurence,  and  made  it  a 
thriving  parish ;  was  director  of  the  Academy  of  Mount  St.  Vin- 
cent, and  one  of  the  Committee  of  Investigation  of  the  diocese. 
When  His  Holiness  Leo  XIIL  established  the  diocese  of  Grand 
Rapids  on  the  19th  of  May,  1882,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richter  was  se- 
lected for  the  new  see.  He  was  consecrated  and  enthroned  in 
St.  Andrew's,  Grand  Rapids,  «n  the  22d  of  April,  1883,  hy  the 
Right  Rev.  William  Henry  Elder,  Coadjutor  of  Cincinnati. 

The  diocese  confided  to  Bishop  Richter  contained  thirty-three 
churches  with  resident  pastors,  seventeen  parochial  schools  with 
2,867  scholars,  out  of  a  population  of  forty  or  fifty  thousand  Car 
tholics.  There  were  also  two  hospitals  and  an  orphan  asylum. 
There  is  a  community  of  Franciscans  at  the  Indian  settlement  of 
Cross  Village ;  and  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Providence,  of  Notre 
Pame,  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  with  Franciscan  and 


'X 


244 


THE  OATROUO  HIBBAB0R7  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Dominican  Sisters,  in  charge  of  academies,  schools,  and  charitable 
institutions. 

The  total  ,  umber  of  churches  in  the  diocese  in  1884  is  given 
as  ninety,  with  fiftr-two  priests,  for  a  population  of  nearly  sixty 
thousand. 

In  1891  these  mbers  had  increased  as  follows :  priests,  71 ; 
total  number  of  c.  .vhes,  116 ;  chapels  and  stations,  57 ;  parochial 
schools,  89.  with  8,110  pupils;  8  hospitals,  and  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  114,925. 


DIOCESE  OF  GRASS  VALLEY. 


RIGHT  REV.  EUGENE  O'CONNELI^ 

Firat  Biahop  of  Gh-asa  VaUey. 

EnoENE  O'CoNNELL  was  bom  in  the  parish  of  Kingscrurt,  in 
the  diocese  of  Meath,  Ireland,  and  studied  in  the  diocesan  semi 
nary  of  Navan,  and  subsequently  at  Maynooth,  where  he  was  or- 
dained in  1842.  He  remained  at  Navan  as  professor  for  several 
years,  and  then  joined  the  community  at  All  Hallows'  College, 
where  he  rendered  very  great  service.  Here  he  spent  several 
years,  leaving  it  for  a  time  to  act  as  missionary  in  California. 
There  he  was  appointed  president  of  Santa  Ifiez  College  and 
president  of  St.  Thomas'  Theological  Seminary.  When  it  was 
resolved  to  divide  the  diocese  of  San  Francisco  by  erecting  the 
vicariate-apostolic  of  Marys ville,  the  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell 
was  selected.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Flaviopolis  in  the 
college  of  All  Hallows  on  the  3d  of  February,  1861,  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Dr.  CuUen.  The  next  month  he  set  out  for  his  vicariate, 
which  comprised  the  portion  of  California  north  of  the  thirty- 
ninth  degree  and  the  Territory  of  Nevada.  In  this  district  he 
found  only  four  priests.  He  made  Marysville  his  residence  and 
took  charge  of  it  as  his  personal  mission,  attending  with  one 
priest  the  stations  in  California;  while  Nevada  at  first  gave 
greater  hopes.  Virginia  City  soon  had  two  churches,  ono  under 
the  Rev.  P.  Manogue,  the  other  directed  by  the  Passionist  Fa- 
thers. Bishop  O'Connell  established  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 
at  Marysville,  and  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Grass  Valley,  in  August, 
1863.  Churches  were  soon  established  at  Downieville,  Forest 
Hill,  Grass  Valley,  Mendocino,  and  Weaverville,  whence  priests 
attended  a  number  of  stations.  Orphan  asylums  were  the  bish- 
op's next  object.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1868,  Pope  Pius  IX.  es- 
tablished the  f^iocese  of  Grass  Valley,  comprising  the  territory 


&-  ■ 


246 


'-••i'^ii^f^  '•' 


THi  OATHOUO  HIBRABOHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


between  the  Paci£c  taid  the  Colorado,  between  the  89th  and  42d 
degrees.  Some  years  .^er  Bishop  O'Connell,  worn  out  by  his 
kbors  in  the  large  and  t->ilsome  field,  obtained  as  a  coadjitor 
the  Right  Bev.  P.  Manogue,  and  in  1884  he  resigned  the  see  and 
was  transferred  to  Joppa.  The  progress  of  Catholicity  in  that 
portion  of  the  country  h»<'  been  slow,  and  Nevada,  prematurely 
made  a  States  has  decline     apidly  in  population. 

As  the  Bight  Sev.  Di  Manogue  became  in  May,  1886,  Bishop 
of  Sacramento — a  new  diocese,  including  the  former  one  of  Grass 
Valley — a  sketch  of  his  life  will  be  found  under  that  head. 


DIOCESE'  OF  SACRAMENTO. 


laGHT  REV.  PATRICK  MANOGUE,  D.D., 
Second  Bishop  of  Grass  Valley  aiid  .First  of  Sacramenfo. 


The  vicariate-apostolic  of  Marysville  became  in  time  the  dio- 
cese of  Grass  Valley;  but  the  progress  of  the  Church  had  not 
been  rapid,  and,  as  some  of  the  adjacent  parts  of  California  needed 
easier  access  to  a  bishop,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  on  the  28th  of 
May,  1886,  added  to  the  diocese  of  Grass  Valley  the  counties  of 
Sacramento,  Yolo,  Tuolumne,  Amador,  Calaveras,  Mariposa,  El 
Dorado,  Placer,  Alpine,  and  Mono,  in  California,  and  Esmeralda 
County,  in  Nevada.  Sacramento  City,  the  capital  of  California, 
became  the  see  of  the  new  diocese,  and  to  it  Bishop  Manogue 
was  transferred. 

Patrick  Manogue  was  bom  in  1831  at  Deseii;,  County  Kil< 
kenny,  Ireland,  and  arrived  in  this  country  in  his  boyhood,  after 
preliminary  studies  at  Callan.  He  was  chrown  into  the  midst 
qi  a  New  England  communitv,  where  he  found  men  of  all  ideas^ 


DI00B8E  OV  SACRAMENTO. 


947 


all  claiming  to  be  the  organs  of  perfect  religions,  and  all  agree- 
ing in  one  single  point — an  insensate  ignorance  of  everything  re- 
lating to  the  Gatholic  Church,  and  consequently  a  deep-seated 
prejudice  against  it.  Called  on  constantly  to  explain  and  defend 
his  faith,  he  resolved  to  become  a  priest,  and  entered  the  uni- 
versity of  St.  Mary^s  of  the  Lake,  Chicago.  After  pursuing  a 
classical  and  philosophical  course  in  that  institution  he  was  sent 
to  Paris,  and  made  his  theological  studies  in  the  great  seminary 
of  St.  Sulpice.  He  was  ordained  priest  in  1861  by  Cardinal  Mor- 
lot  in. the  parish  church  of  St.  Sulpice.  He  soon  after  joined 
the  California  mission,  and  about  1864  was  one  of  the  first  priests 
sent  to  Nevada.  He  erected  St.  Mary's,  a  very  fine  church,  in 
Virginia  City,  and  established  a  house  of  Sisters  of  Charity.  He 
continued  his  mission  labors  here  for  many  years,  acting  for  no 
fewer  than  fifteen  as  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Grass  Valley, 
and  obtaining  favorable  comments  from  all  for  his  zeal  and  en- 
ergy. The  diocese  is  a  large  and  thinly  settled  one,  and  when 
the  priest  first  selected  as  coadjutor  to  Bishop  O'Connell  shrank 
from  the  onerous  duty,  the  Holy  See,  July  27,  1880,  selected  the 
hard-working  and  unambitious  but  able  priest  of  Virginia  City. 
He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Ceramos  on  the  16th  of  January, 
1881,  by  Archbishop  Alemany  in  St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  San 
Francisco.  The  iU-health  and  infirmities  of  Kight  Bev.  Dr. 
O'Connell  devolved  much  of  the  administration  on  the  coadjutor, 
till  by  his  resignation  in  1884  the  Bight  Bev.  Dr.  Manogue  be- 
came second  Bishop  of  Grass  Valley.  His  diocese  contains  only 
from  seven  to  xn  thousand  Catholics,  with  thirty-five  priests  and 
thirty-seven  churches.  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  of  Charity  and 
Mercy,  as  well  as  Dominican  nuns,  conduct  academies,  schools, 
asylums,  and  an  hospital.  Zealous  priests  have  begun  an  earnest 
work  at  the 'Indian  Beservation  to  save  the  last  remnant  of  the 
Mission  Indians. 

The  summary  for  1891  displays  the  following  figures:  43 
priests,  57  churches  and  90  chapels,  3  academies  for  girls,  also  10 
parochial  schools,  4  charitable  institutions,  and  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  25,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  GREEN  BAT. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  MELCHER, 

Mrat  Bishop  of  Green  Bay. 

Joseph  Meloheb  was  bom  in  Vienna  in  the  year  1807.  Af- 
ter pursuing  his  preliminary  uludics  in  that  capital  he  went  to 
Modena  to  complete  his  course,  and  there  won  the  doctor's 
jap.  After  his  ordination  in  1830  he  became  one  of  the  chap 
lains  at  the  court  of  Austria,  but  he  longed  to  devote  himself 
to  the  laborious  life  of  a  missionary  beyond  the  limits  of  Europe. 
When  Bishop  Rosati  visited  Vienna  to  solicit  German  priests  for 
his  diocese,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Melcher  offered  his  services,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1843.  He  was  stationed  at  Little  Rock, 
Arkansas,  and  remained  there  till  the  next  year,  when  that  State 
was  erected  into  a  separate  diocese.  Rev.  Mr.  Melcher  was  then 
recalled  to  St.  Louis  and  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church, 
in  which  position  he  remained  till  he  was  called  to  the  episco- 
pate. He  had  also  for  many  years  held  the  responsible  position 
of  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  On  the  erection  of  the  see  of 
Green  Bay,  March  3,  1868,  he  was  chosen  its  first  bishop  and 
was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral,  St.  Louis,  July  12,  1868.  His 
diocese  comprised  the  part  of  Wisconsin  from  the  east  bank  of 
the  river  of  that  name  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  running  north  from 
the  Fox  and  Manitowoc  rivers  to  the  State  line.  He  found 
sixteen  pnests  for  a  population  of  more  than  forty  thousand 
Catholics  from  various  countries.  He  proceeded  to  organize  his 
diocese,  and  so  successfully  that  in  the  report  furnished  by 
him  in  1873  he  could  claim   sixty-five  churches  and  chapels, 

S4ti 


DIOOBBB  OF  QBBBN  BAT. 


140 


Attended  by  flfty^siz  priests,  two  thousand  children  in  the  Ca* 
tholio  schools,  in  a  total  Catholic  population  of  sixty  thousand. 
Bishop  Melcher  died  piously,  at  Green  Bay,  on  the  20th  of 
December,  1873. 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  XAVIER  KRAUTBAUER, 

•        Second  Biakop  of  Oreen  Ba/y. 

Fbahois  Xayisb  Ebautbaueb  was  bom  on  the  12th  of 
January,  1824,  at  Bruck  on  the  Oberpfalz,  diocese  of  Ratisbonne, 
and  after  pursuing  his  studies  in  his  native  country,  and  being 
raised  to  priestly  orders  on  the  16th  of  July,  1850,  he  came 
to  America  in  the  following  autumn  to  devote  himself  to  mis* 
sionary  work  among  his  countrymen.  From  1351  to  1859  we  see 
him  laboring  in  a  poor  parish  at  Rochester,  then  in  the  diocese 
of  Buffalo.  He  showed  his  zeal  for  Catholic  education  by  estab* 
lishing  a  school  for  children  of  both  sexes,  placing  the  girls  under 
School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and  deeming  it  sounder  policy  to 
retain  his  congregation  in  a  little  frame  church  till  the  school  was 
erected  and  paid  for,  rather  than  cripple  the.  parish  by  erecting 
a  fine  chur. h  beyond  its  means.  In  1859  Rev.  Mr.  Krautbauer 
went  to  Milwaukee  to  become  chaplain  and  director  at  the 
church  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  connected  with  the  mo- 
ther-house of  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  Here  he  re- 
mained for  more  than  ten  years,  his  influence  being  felt  in  the 
community  of  Sisters,  who  profited  by  his  counsels.  Having 
been  selected  to  succeed  Bishop  Melcher,  Dr.  Krautbauer  was 
consecrated  June  29,  1875,  and  took  possession  of  the  see  of 
Green  Bay.  The  diocese  contained  sixty-three  priests  and  ninety; 
two  churches,  the  Servites  representing  the  religious  orders,  with 
Servite  nuns,  Ursulines,  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  Sisters  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  and  St  Dominic,  Sisters  of  St. 
Agnes,  The  population  comprised  English-speaking  Catholics, 
with  others  of  German,  French,  Hollandish,  Bohemian,  Walloon, 


9S0 


TBI  OATHOLIO  BIIEABOHT  IN  TBI  UNITBD  8TATS8. 


Polish,  and  Indian  tongues.  Many  congregations  contained  rep- 
resentatives of  several  languages.  Bishop  Krautbauer  labored 
earnestly  to  extend  the  school  system,  and  by  1884  could  num- 
ber 96  priests,  111  churches,  and  15  chapels,  with  44  parochial 
schools  in  which  6,392  children  were  saved  from  the  soul-wither- 
ering  influence  of  the  public-schools,  where  religious  teaching  is 
excluded.  The  resources  of  the  diocese  by  the  policy  of  Bishop 
Krautbauer  have  been  greatly  enhanced,  although  the  popula- 
tion had  not  increased  in  the  same  ratio  as  the  priests  and  insti- 
tutions. 

Bishop  Krautbauer  continued  his  zealous  labors^  to  the  end. 
On  the  16th  day  of  December,  1885,  he  was  found  dead  in  his  bed. 

The  diocese  of  Green  Bay  shows  the  following  statistics  for 
the  year  1801:  priests,  106;  seminarians,  9 ;  hospitals,  3;  schools, 
70,  with  10,785  pupils  reported  in  attendance;  163  churches  and 
8  chapels,  with  a  Catholic  population  of  100,000. 


iM^ 


DIOCESE  OF  HARMSBURft 


RIGHT  REV.  JEREMIAH  F.  SHANAHAN, 

First  Bishop  of  Harrisbwg. 


Jeremiah  F.  Shanahait  was  born  in  Susquehanna  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  pursued  all  his  studies  in  his  native  State, 
from  his  earliest  rudiments  to  the  close  of  his  ecclesiastical 
course.  He  was  ordained  piieat  by  Right  Rev.  John  Nepomu- 
cene  Neumann,  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  in  July,  1859.  The  ex- 
tent of  his  learning,  his  administrative  powers  and  piety,  led  to 
his  appointment  as  rector  of  the  Preparatory  Seminary  at  Glen 
Riddle,  where  boys  who  evince  the  piety  and'  zeal  likely  to  pro- 
duce a  vocation  ire  trained  in  classical  and  general  learning  to 
fit  them  for  entrance  into  the  diocesan  seminary,  in  case  God 
calls  them  to  the  priesthood.  Under  his  fostering  care  the  es- 
tablishment at  Glen  Riddle  sent  many  (Students  to  the  seminary, 
who  in  time  were  ordained  to  the  priesthood.  He  was  selected 
as  first  bishop  of  the  new  see  of  Harrisburg,  established  in  1868, 
and  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
by  Archbishop  Wood,  assisted  by  Bishop  McGill,  of  Richmond, 
and  Bishop  Domenec,  of  Pittsburgh,  on  Sunday,  July  12,  1868. 

The  diocese  of  Harrisburg  was  another  taken  from  that  of 
Philadelphia,  which  once  embraced  the  whole  States  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Delaware,  and  a  district  in  New  Jersey.  The  part 
of  Pennsylvania  confided  to  the  care  of  Bishop  Shanahan  com- 
prised the  counties  of  Dauphin,  Lebanon,  Lancaster,  York, 
Adams,  Franklin,  Fulton,  Cumberland,  Perry,  Juniata,  Mifiiin, 
Centre,  Clinton,  Union,  Snyder,  Northumberland,  Montour,  and 
Columbia.  The  diocese  lying  along  the  southern  part  of  the 
State  was  not  insignificant  in  extent,  but,  though  it  comprised 


251 


963 


THB  OATHOUO  HllRAROHT  IK  THl  UKITBD  8TATIS. 


within  ita  limito  two  of  the  oldest  Catholic  miBsioni  in  the  State, 
the  Catholic  population  was  comparatively  small.  Conewago  and 
Lancaster  had  at  a  very  early  day  been  visited  by  the  Jesuit  mis- 
sionaries from  Maryland,  and  those  zealous  missionaries  of  colo- 
nial days  established  residences  and  churches  there  before  the 
American  Revolution,  Father  William  Wapeler  being  the  pioneer 
priest  at  both  places,  as  early  as  1741.  When  Bishop  Shanahan 
began  to  organize  his  diocese  he  found  about  twenty-five  thou- 
sand of  the  faithful,  with  forty  churches  and  twenty-two  priests. 
There  were  convents  with  academies  at  MoSherrystown,  Leba- 
non, and  Lancaster,  but  there  were  only  seven  parochial  schools. 
Harrisburg,  though  the  capital  of  the  State,  contained  but  two 
churches,  and  the  newly- consecrated  bishop  took  up  his  residence 
at  St.  Patrick's,  acting  as  rector.  The  diocese  does  not  increase 
much  by  immigration,  but  develops  by  the  natural  growth  of  the 
Catholic  body.  Accordingly  the  great  care  of  the  bishop  was 
to  do  all  in  his  power  to  save  for  religion  and  society  the  rising 
generation.  He  introduced  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  of  St.  Josepli, 
of  Christian  Charity,  of  the  Holy  Cross,  and  the  Seton^fiisters  of 
Charity  from  New  York.  The  result  has  been  consoling.  By 
1884  the  diocese  contained  seven  academics  for  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  girls,  twenty-nine  parochial  schools,  attended  by  more 
than  four  thousand  pupils ;  there  were  two  asylums  to  save  oi'phans 
from  misery  and  loss  of  faith.  Eleven  new  churches  had  been 
erected,  and  he  had  forty-five  priests,  nearly  one  for  every  church 
in  his  diocese. 


DIOCESE  OF  HARTFORD. 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  TYLER, 


Mret  Bishop  of  Hartford, 

William  Ttleb  was  born  on  the  5th  of  June,  180  >,  at  Derby, 
Vermont,  his  father  being  a  substantial  farmer,  his  mother  a  sis- 
ter of  the  famous  convert,  Rev.  Daniel  Barber.  She  followed 
the  example  of  her  relatives,  and  soon  after  their  conversion,  in 
1816,  was  received  into  the  Church  with  her  three  sons  and  four 
daughters.  When  about  fifteen  William  entered  the  claF^ical 
Rchool  established  at  Claremont  by  Kev.  Virgil  Barber.  ^  ho»ir' 
ing  a  vocation  for  the  priesthood,  he  was  taken  into  his  house  by 
Bishop  Fenwick,  and  began  his  theological  course,  receiving  or- 
dination in  Pentecost  week,  1828. 

His  first  appointment  was  in  the  cathedral,  Boston,  where  his 
zeal  and  piety,  as  well  as  his  charity,  won  all  hearts,  his  only  ab- 
sence being  a  short  missionary  service  at  Aroostook.  He  was  in" 
time  made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  and  on  its  division  in 
184.')  he  was  selected  as  the  first  to  wear  the  mitre  as  Bishop  of 
Hartford.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  17th  of  ^T^rch,  1844,  by 
Bishop  Fenwick,  and  proceeded  to  his  diocese,  wluch  embraced 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  and  contained  only  six  priests. 
He  took  up  his  residence  at  Providence,  making  the  church  of  St. 
Peter  and  8t.  Paul  his  cathedral.  The  health  of  Bishop  Tyler 
was  never  strong,  and  he  loved  retirement  and  prayer;  but  he 
was  zealous  in  his  missionary  and  episcopal  duties,  and  gradually 
increased  the  numbers  of  his  clergy  and  churches,  accomplishing 
all  the  more  by  means  of  allowances  from  the  Leopoldine  Society, 
lie  attended  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Councils  of  Baltimore,  pre- 
senting to  the  Fathers  of  the  latter  synod  a  certificate  that  he 
could  not  long  survive,  and  asking  permission  to  resign  his  see. 


i\ 


264 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBRARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  appointment  of  a  coadjutor  was  recommended  by  the  Fathefs 
of  the  council,  but  Bishop  Tyler  returned  to  his  diocese  only  to 
be  stricken  down  by  a  rheumatic  fever.  He  was  for  a  time  de- 
lirious, but  recovered  his  faculties,  and,  receiving  the  last  sacra- 
ments, gave  the  final  directions  as  to  the  affairs  of  the  diocese, 
and,  closing  his  eyes  to  all  earthly  things,  murmured  pious  ejacu- 
lations and  prayers  till  his  soul  departed,  June  18, 1849. 


RIGHT  REV.  BERNARD  O'REILLY,         f  < 

•  Second  Bishop  of  Hartford.   >:    ;  ;      :    ;;^ 

Bebnaec  O'Re?  lly  was  born  in  the  County  Longford,  Ireland, 
in  1803,  and  after  a  pious  education  declared  as  he  reached  his 
majority  that  he  felt  called  by  God  to  serve  him  in  the  priest- 
hood and  on  the  American  mission.  Sailing  for  America  Janu- 
ary 17,  1826,  the  young  Levite  entered  the  College  of  Montreal, 
and,  completing  his  theological  studies  at  St.  Mary's  College, 
Baltimore,  he  was  ordained  in  New  York,  October  13,  1831. 
"He  was  appointed  to  St.  James'  Church  in  Jay  Street,  Brooklyn, 
and  was  a  faithful  pastor  during  the  cholera  of  1832,  being  twice 
prostrated  hj  the  disease  while  attending  his  flock.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1832,  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Rochester, 
his  district  extending  from  Auburn  to  Nitigara.  When  the  see  of 
Buffalo  was  erected,  in  1847,  Bishop  Timon  summoned  him  to 
that  city  and  appointed  him  vicar-general.  The  hospital  of  the 
Sisters  was  his  especial  care,  and  he  ably  defended  it  against  the 
aspersions  of  the  Rev.  John  C.  Lord,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman. 
The  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1849  recommended  him  as  coad- 
jutor to  Bishop  Tyler,  but  on  the  sudden  death  of  that  prelate 
he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Hartford,  on  the  10th  of  November, 
1850,  the  ceremony  taking  place  in  St  Patrick's  Church,  Roch- 
ester. He  took  up  the  administration  with  zeal  and  enei*gy,  but 
found  that  his  little  flock  excited  great  hostility  from  the  popu- 
lation among  whom  they  were  scattered.    When  the  bishop  in* 


■*s 


DIOCESE  OF  HARTFORD. 


255 


troduced  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  into  his  diocese  in  1855,  the  good 
religious  were  threatened  by  a  mob ;  but  he  fearlessly  faced  the 
furious  crowd,  declaring  that  it  was  their  home,  and  that  they 
should  not  leave  it  for  an  hour.  "  1  shall  protect  them  while  I 
have  life,  and,  if  needs  be,  register  their  safety  with  my  blood." 
He  increased  his  clergy  to  forty-two  and  his  churches  to  forty -six, 
established  five  academies  and  three  orphan  asylums,  and  beheld 
his  flock  advance  to  seventy  thousand.  To  carry  out  more  ex- 
tensive plans  for  the  spiritual  good  of  his  flock  Bishop  O'Reilly 
sailed  to  Europe  on  the  5th  of  December,  1 855.  He  secured  a 
religious  community  to  direct  schools  for  boys  in  his  diocese,  and, 
paying  a  visit  to  his  aged  parents,  embarked  for  New  York  on 
the  steamer  Pacific^  January  23,  1856.  No  tidings  of  the  vessel 
or  her  passengers  ever  reached  either  shore.  The  good  bishop 
in  the  midst  of  his  labors  had  been  summoned  to  his  reward. 


;-;*w^ 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  PATRICK  MoFARLAND, 

Third  Bishop  of  Hartford. 

Francis  Patrick  McFarland  was  born  at  Franklin,  Pennsyl- 
vania, April  16,  1819,  and  was  early  trained  to  piety  by  his 
parents.  Evincing  talent  and  a  desire  to  minister  at  God's  altar, 
he  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  and,  on  the  completion  of 
the  period  assigned  for  the  ecclesiastical  studies,  was  ordained 
priest  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York,  by  Bishop  Hughes, 
May  18,  1845.  After  acting  as  professor  at  St.  John's  College, 
Fordham,  he  was  appointed  to  the  mission  of  Watertown,  and 
subsequently  made  pastor  of  St.  John's  Church,  Utica.  Here  he 
remained  several  years,  building  up  the  (^atholic  body  by  his 
zeal  for  the  education  and  training  of  the  young,  and  his  constant 
care  of  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  whole  flock. 

When  it  became  evident  that  Bishop  O'Reilly  had  perished  at 
sea  the  Rev.  Mr.  McFarland's  name  was  proposed  for  the  vacant 
bishopric.    He  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  of  March,  1858,  and. 


256 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBBABOHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


like  bin  predecessors,  made  Providence  his  residence.  Unc:<;r  his 
administration  the  progress  of  the  faith  continued,  so  that  in 
1872  the  diocese,  which  could  boast  a  population  of  two  hundred 
thousand  Catholics,  with  more  than  a  hundred  churches  and 
priests,  ten  academies,  forty-five  parochial  schools,  and  pupils  ex- 
ceeding five  thousand,  was  divided.  A  new  see  was  erected  at 
Providence,  with  Rhode  Island  and  part  of  Massachusetts  as  a 
diocese.  Bishop  McFarland  removed  to  Hartford,  and  began  the 
erection  of  a  cathedral  with  an  episcopal  residence  and  a  convent 
for  Sisters.  His  health,  however,  failed,  and  though  he  visited 
the  South,  the  zealous  bishop  was  unable  to  remain  away  from 
his  diocese;  he  returned  to  linger  and  die  on  the  12th  of  October, 
1874.  His  administration  had  been  that  of  a  kind  and  gentle 
father,  winning  the  love  of  his  flock  and  the  respect  of  the  whole 
community  by  his  virtues,  his  learning,  and  his  modesty.  At  his 
death  Connecticut  alone  had  89  churches  and  76  priests. 


i*t 


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■    ■■  -  i^-i  ■ 

RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  GALBERRY,  O.S.A, 

Fowrth  Bishop  of  Ha/rtford.  ^    1 

Thomas  Galbebry  first  saw  the  light  at  Naas,  in  the  County 
Kildare,  Ireland,  in  1833;  but  three  years  after  his  birth  his 
parents  came  to  this  country  and  settled  in  Philadelphia.  Here 
he  received  his  early  training  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  entered 
Villanova  College.  On  his  graduation,  in  1851,  he  resolved  to 
renounce  the  world,  and  the  next  year  received  the  habit  of  the 
Hermits  of  St.  Augustinf.  at  Villanova.  After  a  fervent  novi- 
tiate he  began  his  divinity  studies,  and  was  ordained  priest  by 
Bishop  Neumann,  December  20,  1856.  Father  Galberry  was  for 
two  years  a  professor  at  Villanova,  then  pastor  of  St.  Dennis' 
Church,  West  Haverford.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  1 860  he 
was  sent  to  Lansingburg,  New  York,  a  mission  long  in  the  hands 
<d  the  Augustinians.    Here  he  erected  a  fine  Gothic  church  at  a 


■5  »mv:^i^-!*Brrt-— ;[t*-''- 


DIOCBSB  OF  HABTFOBD. 


267 


cost  of  more  tban'thirty-tferee  tliousand  dollars,  and  near  it  a 
house  for  the  Sisters  of  bt.  Joseph.  On  the  30th  of  November, 
1866,  he  was  made  superior  of  the  Gommissariate  of  Our  Lady  of 
Good  Counsel,  the  mission  of  his  order  in  the  United  States. 
While  holdinr^  this  important  office  he  took  charge  at  Lawrence, 
Mass.,  completing  the  church  in  that  piece,  and,  having  been 
elected  president  of  Villanova  College,  erected  a  new  edifice  and 
reorganized  the  univei-sity  course.  When  the  Augustinians  in 
the  United  States  were  formed  into  the  province  of  St.  Thomas 
of  Villanova,'^  in  1874,  Father  Galberry  was  elected  provincial 
but  was  soon  after  appointed  by  the  Pope  Bishop  of  Hartford. 
Reluctant  to  sever  his  life  from  his  religious  brethren,  he  for- 
warded his  resignation  to  Rome,  but  was  required  to  obey.  He 
was  accordingly  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Williams,  March  19, 
1876.  On  assuming  the  mitre  of  Hartford  he  entered  on  his 
duties  with  his  wonted  zeal  and  devotion,  seeking  to  spread 
through  his  flock  solid  and  deep  piety  and  attachment  to  the 
faith,  as  he  had  while  superior  of  his  order  extended  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Augustine  with  great  spiritual  fruit.  He  was  not, 
however,  long  to  rule  the  diocese  of  Hartford.  In  October,  1878, 
feeling  that  his  health  was  breaking,  he  hoped  that  a  visit  to 
Villanova  would  enable  him  to  recruit  his  strength  and  obtain 
the  care  of  physicians  who  knew  his  constitution.  His  case, 
•  however,  was  far  more  critical  than  he  supposed.  Before  the 
rapidly-moving  cars  reached  New  York  Bishop  Galberry  was 
seized  with  a  hemorrhage,  and  as  the  Grand  Central  Station  was 
entered  he  was  conveyed  to  a  hotel  and  medical  aid  was  sum- 
moned. It  was  beyond  the  power  of  science  to  arrest  the  mal- 
ady. The  faithful  bishop  prepared  to  surrender  a  life  which  he 
had  spent  in  the  service  of  religion  and  his  fellow-men,  and  was 
attended  by  several  of  the  city  clergy.  He  died  calmly  about 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  October  10,  1878,  greatly  la- 
mented by  his  fellow-religious  and  by  the  diocese  of  Hartford, 
which  had  just  begun  to  appreciate  his  worth. 


,>K'J 


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258 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIBBAAOBT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


M. 


RIGHT  KEV.  LAWRENCE  S.  MoMAHON, 

Mfth  Bishop  of  Hartford. 

Lawrence  S.  McMahon  was  born  in  the  Britisli  province  of 
New  Brunswick  in  1S35,  but  wvs  ^v ought  to  the  United  States 
when  foul'  months  old.  His  early  stuciies  were  made  in  the  public 
schools  of  Boston,  but  he  subsequently  entered  the  College  of 
the  Holy  Cross  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  remained  there  till  the 
destruction  of  that  institution  by  fire  suspended  its  work  for 
a  time.  He  made  the  rest  of  his  course  in  Montreal  and  Bal- 
timore. Desirous  of  devoting  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
Almighty,  he  went  to  France  and  began  his  theological  course 
at  the  college  of  Aix,  but  completed  it  at  Rome,  March  24, 
1860.  He  was  ordained  that  same  year  in  the  Basilica  of  St. 
John  Lateran  by  the  cardinal  vicar.  On  his  return  to  the 
United  States  he  was  fii-st  stationed  in  the  cathedral  at  Boston, 
but  in  1863  accompanied  the  Twenty-eighth  Massachusetts  regi- 
ment to  the  field  as  chaplain.  After  the  war  he  was  appoint- 
ed the  first  pastor  of  Bridgewater,  from  which  parish  he  was, 
on  the  Ist  of  July,  1865,  transferred  to  New  Bedford.  Here 
he  erected  the  elegant  Gothic  church  dedicated  to  St.  Lawrence, 
collecting  means  as  he  advanced,  so  that  he  escaped  any  large 
indebtedness.  His  next  step  was  to  establish  an  hospital  for 
the  care  of  the  sick,  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy — 
the  first  institution  of  the  kind  in  New  Bedford — and  he  also  ac- 
quired land  for  other  pious  establishments.  When  the  see  of 
Providence  was  erected,  in  1872,  Bishop  Hendricken  made  Rev. 
Mr.  McMahon  his  vicar-general,  and  the  next  year  the  zealous 
priest  received  from  Rome  the  degree,  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
After  fourteen  years'  mission  work  at  New  Bedford  he  was 
chosen  for  the  see  of  Hartford,  and  was  consecrated  by  Arch- 
bishop Williams  on  the  10th  of  August,  1879.  He  completed 
the  cathedral,  and  governs  the  diocese  with  zeal  and  prudence. 
The  diocese  contained  in  1891:  184  priests,  148  churches,  and 
a  Catholic  population  estimated  at  180,000. 


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DIOCESE  OF  HELENA. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  B.  BRONDEL, 

First  Bishop  of  Helena. 


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Joh.^  B.  Bbondel  was  bom  at  Bruges,  in  the  Belgian 
province  of  West  Flanders,  on  the  23d  of  February,  1842,  and 
received  his  first  instructions  from  the  Xaverian  Brothers,  a 
community  but  recently  formed  in  his  native  city.  He  then 
for  ten  years  followed  the  French  and  Latin  courses  at  the 
College  of  St.  Louis,  the  episcopal  seat  of  learning.  Choosing 
the  career  of  a  missionary,  he  made  his  philosophical  and 
theological  studies  in  the  American  College  at  Lou  vain,  and 
was  ordained  priest  by  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Sterckx  at 
Mechlin  on  the  17th  of  December,  1864.  He  had  been  re- 
ceived by  Bishop  Blanchet  for  the  diocese  of  Nesqually,  and 
set  out  for  it  by  the  way  of  Panama,  reaching  Vancouver  on  All- 
Hallow  Eve,  1866.  After  spending  a  year  at  the  college,  com- 
bining the  duties  of  a  professor  with  those  of  a  missionary,  he 
was  stationed  for  ten  years  at  Steilacoom,  on  Puget  Sound, 
and  after  a  year  at  Walla  Walla  returned  to  it.  During  his 
pastorship  he  built  churches  at  Olympia  and  Tacoma.  Having 
been  elected  Bishop  of  Vancouver's  Island,  he  was  consecrated 
by  Archbishop  Seghers  on  the  14th  of  December,  1879.  He 
directed  this  difficult  diocese  till  April  7,  1883,  when  he  was  made 
also  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Montana.  He  set  to  work  to  organize  the 
Church  there.  The  eastern  portion  of  the  Territory  had  been  erect- 
ed into  a  vicariate-apostolic  as  early  as  1868,  and  the  Very  Rev.  A. 
Ravoux  had  been  elected  to  preside  over  it,  but  he  declined  the 
appointment.  The  vicariate  was  then  administered  by  the  vicars- 
apostolic  of  Nebraska  till  1883,  when  the  whole  Territory  was 
formed  into  a  vicariate-apostolic,  and  Bishop  Brondel  was  the  first 


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r.,-;-:':'<M' 


ICf' 


262 


THB  OATHOUO  H1BBAR0H7  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


vicar-spostolio.  On  the  7th  of  March,  1884,  His  Holiness 
Pope  Leo  XIIL  erected  the  see  of  Helena  and  transferred  Dish- 
op  Brondel  to  it.  The  church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  became  his 
cathedral,  and  he  endeavored  to  secure  missionaries  who  would 
accomplish  among  other  tiibes  what  the  Jesuit  Fathera  had 
effected  among  the  Flatheads  and  Pends  d'Oreilles.  The  popu> 
lation  of  the  diocese  was  then  about  ten  thousand,  the  white 
Catholics  being  widely  scattered,  and  beside  the  thirteen  Jesuit 
Fathers  he  bad  only  five  secular  priests. 

These  numbers  had  increased  in  1891  to  the  following:  30 
priests,  31  churches  and  chapels,  6  hospitals,  4  seminarians,  3 
academies,  7  parochial  schools,  and  an  estimated  Catholic  popula- 
tion of  30,000. 


n    • 


was  con 


DIOCESES  OF  KANSAS  CITY  AND  ST.  JOSEPH'S. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  HOGAN, 


First  Bishop  of  ITanaas  Oity  and  First  Bishop  of  8t. 

Josephs, 

John  J.  Hooan  was  born  May  10,  1829,  in  the  parish  of 
Bruff,  diocese  of  Limerick,  Ireland.  At  the  age  of  five  he  was 
sent  to  the  neighboring  village  school  of  Holy  Cross.  At  ten  he 
was  placed  under  the  care  of  a  private  tutor  in  his  father's  house, 
where  for  four  years  he  devoted  himself  to  acquiring  Latin, 
Greek,  and  French.  After  four  years  more  spent  in  classical 
schools  young  Hogan  came  to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
to  enter  the  theological  seminary,  and  at  the  close  of  the  regular 
course  was  ordained  priest  in  April,  1852.  The  young  priest's 
first  mission  was  at  Old  Mines,  where  he  spent  a  year  and  a  half, 
and  was  then  transferred  to  Potosi,  where  he  became  pastor.  In 
1854  he  was  called  to  St.  Louis,  and  besides  duty  as  assistant  at 
St.  John's  Church  officiated  as  chaplain  to  the  Male  Orphan 
Asylum  and  confessor  to  the  Sistei-s.  While  thus  engaged  be 
was  commissioned  to  organize  a  new  parish,  and  erected  St. 
Michael's  Church,  of  which  he  became  rector,  signalizing  his  pas- 
torship by  at  once  commencing  the  parochial  schools.  North- 
west Missouri,  a  wide  district  of  country,  without  altar  or  priest, 
required  an  active  and  zealous  missionary.  He  cheerfully  left 
the  parish  which  he  had  created  to  undertake  the  difficulties  and 
hardships  of  an  unprovided  distnct.  The  resolute  energy  of  the 
priest  appears  in  the  missions  founded  by  him  at  Martinsburg, 
Mexico,  Stura^eon,  Allen — now  called  Moberly — Macon  City, 
Brookfield,  Chillicothe,  and  Cameron.  Shortly  before  the  civil 
war  he  undertook  to  establish  a  settlement  in  southern  Missouri, 
on  the  borders  of  Arkansas,  but  was  unsuccessfal,  the  derj^  tide 


264 


TRB  OATHOLIO  HIBRARCHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATBI. 


of  conflicting  armies  having  rolled  too  frequently  forward  and 
backward  over  the  peaceful  labors  of  the  ruined  settlers.  The 
diocese  of  8t.  Louis  bad  long  comprised  the  whole  State  of  Mis- 
souri, but  it  was  evident  that,  by  assigning  a  portion  of  the  terri- 
tory to  a  local  bishop,  the  interests  of  religion  would  be  better 
subserved.  Soon  after  the  restoration  of  peace  plans  were  made 
for  the  erection  of  a  new  see,  which  was  created  by  Pope  Pius 
IX.  on  the  3d  of  March,  1868,  at  St.  Joseph,  in  Buchanan  County, 
the  diocese  comprising  the  portion  of  Missouri  lying  between  the 
river  of  that  name  and  the  Chariton.  To  this  see  the  laborious 
missionary  was  appointed,  receiving  episcopal  consecration  on  the 
18th  of  September,  1868,  at  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Kenrick, 
in  St.  John's  Church,  St.  Louis,  the  assistant  bishops  being  the 
Right  Rev.  John  fi.  Mi^ge  and  Right  Rev.  P.  A.  Feehan,  the 
eloquent  sermon  on  the  occasion  being  preaclied  by  Bishop  Hen- 
nessy,  of  Dubuque.  The  diocese  included  part  of  Dr.  Hogan's 
foiiLor  missions,  so  that  he  was  personally  known.  When  he  was 
installed  it  contained  only  four  thousand  Catholics,  with  eleven 
churches  attended  by  nine  priests ;  but  education  had  received  a 
solid  basis  in  the  establishment  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  and  the  Christian  Brothers  at  St.  Joseph.  Under  the 
bishop^s  impulse  a^  new  energy  was  infused  into  the  Catholic 
body,  priests  were  obtained  for  growing  congregations,  churches 
rose,  the  Benedictine  Fathers  came  to  found  a  priory  at  Concep- 
tion, in  Nodaway  County,  and  the  Fraiviscans  at  Mount  St. 
Mary's.  Sisters  of  Charity,  Benedictine  nuns.  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph  and  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration,  help  to  carry  on  the 
needed  parochial  schools.  By  1 880  the  Catholics  of  the  diocese, 
considerably  increased  in  numbers,  had  thirty  churches  and 
twenty-six  priests. 

On  the  10th  of  September  in  that  year  the  Holy  See  erected 
another  diocese,  comprising  the  portion  of  the  State  south  of  the 
Missouri  River  and  west  of  Moniteau,  Miller,  Camden,  Laclede, 
Wright,  Douglas,  and  Ozark  counties.  The  episcopal  see  was 
fixed  at  Kansas  City,  and  to  it  Bishop  Hogan  was  transferred, 
retaining  the  charge  of  his  former  diocese  as  administrator.  This 
new  diocese  contained  forty-two  churches  and  thirty  priests,  and 
eome  twelve  thousand  Catholics.    The  Sisters  oJ  St.  Joseph  had 


DI00BSB8  OF  KANSAS  CITY  AND  ST.  JOSBPHV. 


266 


opened  at  St.  JosepVs  a  convent,  attending  an  hospital,  an 
asylum,  and  schools.  Ghillicothe,  Brookfield,  Sedalia,  Concep- 
tioii,  Maryville,  Boonville,  Springfield,  Independence,  and  Tipton, 
all  had  schools. 

The  Redemptorist  Fathers  soon  made  Kansas  City  the  centre 
of  their  Western  missions,  establishing  there  a  novitiate  and  pre* 
paratory  college;  the  Benedictine  priory  became  the  abbey  of 
New  Engelberg,  with  the  Right  Rev.  Frowenus  Conrad  mitred 
abbot ;  a  hospital  was  established  at  Kansas  City,  and  orphan 
asylums  there  and  at  St.  Joseph's ;  and  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
opened  in  the  former  city  a  house  for  those  who  were  left  in  poy- 
erty  in  an  advanced  age.  In  May,  1 882,  he  laid  the  corner-stone 
of  the  cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  a  fine  Corinthian 
church,  capable  of  holding  four  thousand  people.  By  1884  the 
two  dioceses  under  the  care  of  Bishop  Hogan  had  a  Catholic  pop- 
ulation of  40,000,  with  seventy-five  churches  and  eighty  priests. 
The  whole  development  was  coeval  with  the  bishop's  labors; 
and  he  has  never  relaxed  his  efforts,  aiming  to  give  his  people 
every  facility  for  the  practice  of  their  religion  and  for  the  Cath- 
olic education  of  their  children,  and  constantly  keeping  in  view 
the  training-up  of  candidates  for  the  priesthood  to  maintain  the 
work  and  meet  the  ever-increasing  audacity  of  infidelity,  which 
thrives  in  a  land  of  godless  schools. 

At  the  beginning  of  1891  there  were,  in  the  two  dioceses  of 
Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph,  103  priests,  72  churches,  75  chapels 
and  stations,  41  parochial  schools  with  4,707  pupils,  3  colleges 
and  13  academies  with  1,063  students,  2  orphanages,  5  hospitals, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  64,260.  3 


DIOCESE  OF  LA  CROSSE. 


RIGHT  REV.  KILIAN  FLA8CH, 
Second  Bishop  of  La  Orosae. 


KiUAN  Flasoh  was  born  on  the  16t1i  of  July,  1881,  at  the 
Tillage  of  Retzstadt,  in  the  diocese  of  Wiirzburg,  Bavaria.  He 
was  brought  up  on  his  father's  farm,  attending  the  neighboring 
schools  till  his  parents  emigrated  to  America,  in  1847.  He  soon 
after  entered  the  College  of  Notre  Dame,  Indiana,  from  which  he 
passed  to  the  pro-seminary  at  Milwaukee,  and,  persevering  in  his 
resolve  to  devote  his  life  to  the  apostolate  of  the  Christian  priest' 
hood,  ho  became  a  student  in  the  Salesianum,  or  Seminary  of  St. 
Francis,  at  its  opening  in  1856.  After  pursuing  a  solid  course 
of  divinity  studies  in  that  thorough  seminary  he  was  ordained 
priest,  December  16,  1859.  His  pious  parents  lived  to  see  with 
joy  their  son  a  priest  and  three  daughters  enter  the  Sisterhood 
of  Notre  Dame,  his  mother  attaining  an  age  of,  nearly  fourscore 
and  ten  to  receive  his  episcopal  blessing.  The  young  priest  was 
stationed  at  Laketown  for  about  ten  months,  but  in  October, 
1860,  was  recalled  to  the  Salesianum,  where,  as  master  of  discip- 
line and  professor,  he  remained  till  May,  1867,  when  ill-health  re- 
quired a  change.  He  sought  rest,  however,  in  mission  work,  taking 
charge  of  a  small  parish  and  an  orphan  asylum  at  Elm  Grove, 
near  Milwaukee.  In  November,  1875,  he  became  spiritual  di- 
rector at  the  seminary  and  professor  of  moral  theology,  and  in 
1879,  on  the  retirement  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wapelhorst,  Rector  of  the 
Salesianum.  When  Bishop  Heiss  was  made  coadjutor  of'  Mil- 
waukee this  learned  and  experienced  priest  was  selected  for  the 
see  of  La  Crosse,  and  was  consecrated  by  his  predecessor,  August 
24,  1881.    He  was  installed  in  his  cathedral  a  week  later,  and 


966 


DIOOKSB  Of  LA  CR088X. 


^67 


has  since  labored  for  the  flock  committed  to  his  care,  now  num- 
bering 64,500,  with  119  churchefi,  attended  by  71  priests.  The 
Jesuit  Fathers  have  established  a  thriving  college  at  Prairie  du 
Chien ;  the  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration  have 
a  large  community,  taking  charge  of  two  orphan  asylums,  a  hos- 
pital, and  eighteen  parochial  schools,  other  schools  being  con- 
ducted by  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  St.  Dominic,  St  Joseph,  and 
Sisters  of  Charity. 

llie  above  numbers  had  increased  in  1891  to  the  following : 
102  priests,  18  seminarians,  197  churches,  60  parochial  schools, 
6,743  pupils,  8  convents  and  6  hospitals,  and  a  Catholic  popula- 
tion of  67,000. 


,'ii 


DI0CS8E  OF  LEAVENWORTH. 


-^^\ 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  B.  Mi:gGE, 

bishop  of  Measmia  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Kamat. 

Joss  Baptkt  MiiGE  was  born  September  18,  1815,  at  Chev- 
ron, in  Upper  Savoy,  of  a  pious  and  prominent  family  which  had 
seen  many  of  its  members  in  dignities  of  Church  or  state.  He 
was  educated  mainly  by  his  elder  brother,  Urban,  who  for  nearly 
forty-two  years  presided  over  the  Episcopal  Seminary  of  Men- 
tiers.  His  early  inclinations  pointed  to  the  sacerdotal  state,  but 
on  completing  his  studies,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  announced 
to  his  brother  his  wish  to  enter  the  army.  Urban  urged  him  to 
make  a  thorough  course  of  philosophy  before  taking  the  step, 
and  two  years  later  John  Baptist  said  to  him :  "  Brother,  with 
your  consent  I  would  like  to  enter  the  Society  of  Jesus."  He 
was  received  into  the  novitiate  at  M^lan,  October  23,  1836,  and, 
after  some  years  spent  as  a  successful  teacher  of  the  young, 
studied  theology  under  Perrone,  Passaglia,  Patrizzi,  and  Ballerini. 
He  was  ordained  at  Rome  in  1847,  and  on  the  dispersion  of  the 
Italian  houses  of  the  society  in  the  following  year  asked  to  be 
sent  to  the  American  mission.  Reaching  St.  Louis  near  the 
close  of  1849,  he  became  pastor  of  St.  Charles'  Church,  professor 
of  moral  theology  at  Florissant,  and  subsequently  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  St.  Louis.  In  1850  he  received  a  package  containing  his 
appointment  as  V^  car- Apostolic  of  the  Indian  Territory  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  firmly  but  respectfully  returned  the 
documents  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  through  whom  they  had  been 
forwarded.  In  time  a  formal  order  arrived  fl*om  Rome  requir- 
ing  his  submission,  but  promising  that  he  should  not  be  raised 
to  any  see  in  the  United  States,  and  that  as  titular  bishop  he 
might  remain  a  member  of  the  Society.  He  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Meg  enia  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  on  the  Fe  it  of  the  An- 

868 


DIOCESE  OF  LEAVENWORTH. 


269 


nunciation,  1851,  in  St.  Xavier's  Church,  St.  Louis.  The  vicariate 
assigned  to  his  care  was  then  held  mainly  by  Indian  tribes,  few 
white  settlers  having  entered  it.  The  States  of  Kansas,  Ne- 
braska, Colorado,  and  Indian  Territory  have  since  been  formed 
from  the  territory.  He  proceeded  to  St.  Mary's  Mission,  which 
he  made  his  residence,  and  'entered  on  the  work  of  a  missionary 
priest,  to  explore  his  vicariate  and  ascertain  its  wants,  and  form 
plans  for  the  development  of  religion.  In  1853  he  visited  Rome 
to  report  its  condition,  acting  also  as  procurator  of  his  order  at 
a  General  Congregation.  When  he  took  possession  of  the  vicari- 
ate it  contained  missions  of  his  order  among  the  Pottowatamies 
and  Osages,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  directing  a  girls'  school 
at  the  former.  Bishop  Mi4ge  soon  had  an  Osage  school,  under 
Sisters  of  Loretto ;  the  Catholics  in  his  whole  district  number- 
ing about  five  thousand.  For  these  he  gradually  provided  more 
priests  and  churches.  As  the  district  soon  invited  settlers,  who 
poured  in  from  the  north  and  the  south,  the  Territories  of  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska  were  laid  off,  and  here  began  a  struggle  which 
culminated  in  a  civil  war  between  the  two  sections.  In  August, 
1855,  Bishop  Miege  fixed  his  residence  at  Leavenworth,  where 
he  found  seven  Catholic  families.  That  year  he  could  repoit  six 
churches,  three  building,  eleven  stations,  and  eight  priests.  The 
next  year  the  Benedictine  Fathers  began  a  mission  at  Doniphan, 
and  in  a  few  years  Dom  Augustine  Wirth  o^>ened  a  -^ollegf*  at 
Atchison.  As  settlers  increased  church««  sprang  up  -*o  that  in 
185V  Nebraska  was  formed  into  a  separate  vi-ariate,  and  Bi8}i'^>p 
Midge's  jurisdiction  was  confined  to  the  Territory  of  Khnnas.  Be- 
fore the  close  of  the  civil  war  Kansas  had  nineteen  priests — sf;cu- 
lars,  Jesuits,  Benedictines,  and  Carmelites — and,  besid*>  the  Sister- 
hoods already  noted.  Sisters  of  Char.ty,  who  operied  at  I>e*iven- 
worth  an  academy,  an  hospital,  anrl  an  asylum  After  that  the 
growth  of  religion  was  rapid,  and  ia  1871  Bishop  Miege  obtairi'd 
his  wish  in  the  consecration  cf  a  coadjutor,  Dora  Louis  Fink, 
who,  as  prior  of  the  Benedictines  at  Atchison  and  vicar  f^enerai 
of  the  diocese,  was  fully  conversant  with  the  vicariate.  Wli«n,  in 
1874,  Bishop  Mi^ge  was  permitted  to  resign  the  charge  of  vicar- 
apostolic,  he  left  in  the  State  thirty-five  thousand  Catholics,  forty- 
eight  priests,  and  seventy-one  churches,  including  a  magnificent 


2tO 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERABOBT  IN  THS  ITKITBD  STATBS. 


cathedral.  To  meet  the  debts  incurred  in  the  nevir  buildings 
Bishop  Mi^ge  made  a  successful  tour  through  California  and 
Spanish  America. 

In  July,  1 874,  he  returned  as  a  simple  Jesuit  Father  to  the 
university  in  St.  Louis.  As  spiritual  director  of  the  young  stu- 
dents of  the  crder  at  Woodstock  he  passed  a  few  quiet  years,  and, 
after  opening  a  collegre  of  his  order  at  Detroit  in  1877,  returned 
to  that  house  of  studies.  Prostrated  by  paralysis  in  1888,  he 
lingered  in  great  suffering  till  his  death,  July  20,  1884. 


RIGHT  REV.  LOUIS  MARIA  FINK, 

First  Bishop  of  Leavenworth. 

Michael  Fink  was  born  in  Triftersberg,  Bavaria,  on  the  12th 
of  June.  18H4,  and,  after  studying  in  the  Latin  school  and  gym- 
nasium at  Ilatisbon,  came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 
Called  to  a  religious  life  he  sought  admission  among  the  Bene- 
dictines of  St.  Vincent's  Abbey,  in  Westmoreland  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  received  by  the  founder,  Abbot  Wimmer,  and 
made  his  profession  on  the  6th  of  January,  1854,  taking  the  name 
of  Louis  Maria.  After  completing  his  theological  studies  he  was 
ordained  priest  on  the  28th  of  May,  1857,  by  Bishop  Young,  of 
Erie.  The  first  missionary  labors  of  the  young  Benedictine  priest 
were  at  Belief onte.  Pa.,  and  Newark,  N.  J.  He  was  then  made 
pastor  of  a  congregation  in  Covington,  Ky.,  where  he  completed 
a  fine  church.  He  inti-oduced  into  the  parish  Benedictine  nuns 
to  direct  a  girls'  school,  which  was  one  of  his  earliest  cares.  Ap- 
pointed to  St.  Joseph's,  Chicago,  he  aroused  a  spirit  of  faith  in 
his  flock  at  that  place  and  gathered  so  many  around  the  iltar 
that  a  new  church  was  required,  which  he  erected  at  a  cost  of 
eighty  thousand  dollars,  planting  a  large  and  well-arranged 
school-house  beside  it.  As  prior  of  the  house  of  his  order  in 
Atchison,  Kan.,  he  showed  tiie  same  .'^eal  and  ability;  and  when 
Bishop  Mi^ge  wished  to  obtain  a  coadjucor  to  whom  he  could  re- 
sign his  chnrg-e,  that  pi-elate  solicited  the  appointment  of  the  prior 


DIOCBSB  OF  LEAVENWORTH. 


-  278 


of  St.  Benedict.  On  the  lltli  of  June,  1871,  be  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Foley  Bishop  of  Eucarpia  in  St.  Joseph's  Church,  CLi- 
cago,  which  he  had  erected.  Bishop  Fink  not  only  aided  Bishop 
Miege  in  the  episcopal  labors  of  the  vicariate,  but  in  his  absence 
had  the  entire  charge.  In  1874  Bishop  Mi^ge  resignef^  the  vica 
riate,  and  resumed  his  position  in  the  Society  of  Jesus  as  a  simple 
Father.  Bishop  Fink  became  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Kansas  till  the 
erection  of  the  see  of  Leavenworth,  May  22,  1877,  when  he  was 
transferred  to  it.  The  diocese  is  a  large  and  important  one,  and 
l^ishop  Fink  in  pastorals  and  otherwise  shows  his  zeal  for  Catho- 
lic progress.  His  diocese  is  well  provided  with  educational  es- 
tablishments for  its  80,000  Catholics.  St.  Benedict's  College  is 
connected  with  the  Benedictine  Abbey  at  Atctiison ;  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  direct  St.  Mary's  College  at  St.  Mary's ;  there  are  besides 
3  academies  and  48  parochial  schools,  with  4,000  pupils,  under 
Benedictine  and  Franciscan  Sisters,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and  of 
Charity,  and  of  St.  Agnes.  The  diocese  also  possesses  orphan 
houses  and  hospitals  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 

The  statistical  summary  of  the  diocese  of  Leavenworth  for 
1891  is  as  follows":  75  secular  and  49  regular  priests,  with  20 
seminarians;  174  churches  and  4  others  under  construction,  13 
chapels,  3  colleges  and  4  academies,  about  55  par-  chial  schools 
with  about  4,600  pupils,  2  orphan  asylums  and  4  Lospltals,  and 
a  Catholic  population  of  about  60,000. 


^^sM 


DIOCESE  OF  LITTLE  ROCK. 


RIGHT  REV.  ANDREW  BYRNE, 

Mrat  Bishop  of  Little  JRoch         :.  :*:  1" 

Andebw  Byrne  was  born  at  Navan,  in  Ireland,  once  famous 
for  its  shrine  of  Our  Lady,  on  the  5tji  of  December,  1802.  After 
careful  studies  he  entered  the  diocesan  seminary  in  his  native 
place,  and  while  there  responded  to  a  call  from  Bishop  Eng- 
land for  laborers  in  his  diocese.  Young  Byrne  accompanied  the 
bishop  to  Charleston  in  1820,  and,  completing  his  course  under 
him,  was  ordained  November  11,  1827.  After  spending  some 
years  in  laborious  missions  in  the  Carolinas  the  Rev.  Mr.  Byrne 
became  pastor  of  St.  Mary's,  Charleston,  in  1830,  and  was  for  sev- 
eral years  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  After  attending  the  Ir^ec- 
ond  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian  to  Bishop 
England,  he  came  to  New  York  in  1836  and  was  pastor  of  St. 
James'  and  the  Nativity,  eitablishing  subsequently  St.  Andrew's 
Church.  In  all  these  positions  he  had  displayed  untiring  devo- 
tion to  his  priestly  duties,  a  kind  and  benevolent  heart,  zeal  in 
the  confessional,  and  eloquence  in  the  pulpit.  On  the  erection 
of  the  see  of  Little  Rock  in  1843  he  was  nominated  as  bishop, 
and  was  consecrated,  with  Bishop  McCloskey  and  Bishop  Quar- 
ter, on  the  10th  of  March,  1844,  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New 
York.  He  proceeded  to  his  diocese,  which  comprised  the  State  of 
Arkansas  and  Indian  Territory,  only  to  find  that  Catholics  were 
few,  widely  scattered,  and  destitute  of  all  spiritual  aid.  He  twice 
visited  Europe  to  obtain  priests  and  some  sisterhood  to  direct 
schools  and  charitable  institutions.  He  was  the  first  to  intro- 
duce into  this  country  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  labored  assidu- 
ously for  his  diocese ;  but  Catholic  progress  was  comparatively 
slow  He  found  but  seven  hundred  Catholics,  with  four  priests 
and  as  many  churches.     At  his  death  lie  left  thirteen  churches 


DIOOESE  OF  LITTLE  ROCK. 


275 


and  nine  priests.  For  several  yeai-s  hia  diocese  afforded  little  or 
nothing  for  hia  support,  but  he  was  never  discouraged.  He  at- 
tended the  Sixth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  and  the  First  of 
New  Orleans,  and  died  at  Helena  June  10, 1862.  Hia  remains  were 
transferred  to  Little  Rock  and  inteired  in  the  cathedral  Dec.  3, 1881. 


RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  FITZGERALD. 

Second  Bishop  of  Little  Moch. 

Edwaed  Fitzc  jD  was  born  in  Limerick,  Ireland,  on 
the  28th  of  October,  1833 ;  descended  on  his  father's  side  from 
one  of  the,  old  landed  families,  and  on  his  mother's  from  the 
German  Palatines,  who  settled  in  Ireland  to  avoid  Catholicity, 
but  gave  many  children  back  to  the  Church.  Coming  to  this 
country  with  bis  family  in  1649,  he  entered"  the  college  at  the 
Barrens,  Mo.,  in  the  ensuing  year  to  prepare  for  his  entrance  into 
a  theological  seminary.  After  five  years  of  ecclesiastical  study 
at  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West  and  its  prototype  at  Emmitts- 
burg  he  was  ordained  for  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati,  August  22, 
.1857,  and  was  at  once  sent  on  a  mission  of  unusual  difficulty  for 
a  newly-ordained  priest.  He  was  made  paator  of  the  church  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  then  under  interdict,  and  in  a  str^te  of  rebellion 
against  Archbishop  Purcell.  Rev  Mr.  Fitzgerald  restored  peace, 
and  brought  tbe  erring  to  a  sense  of  duty.  For  nine  years  he 
labored  assiduously,  building  up  Catholicity  in  that  city,  soon  to 
become  a  bis^iop's  see 

After  the  close  of  the  ^ivil  War,  when  it  was  possible  to  be- 
gin to  repair  the  losses,  Rev.  Mr.  Fitzgerald  was  appointed  to  the 
diocese  of  Little  Rock.  It  was  a  sacrifice  of  no  ordinary  char- 
acter to  undertake,  without  resources,  to  restore  or  advance  the 
interests  of  the  Church  in  a  State  like  Arkansas,  where  the  little 
Catholic  beginnings  had  almost  been  swept  away ;  yet  he  ac- 
cepted the  onerous  task,  and  was  consecrated  February  3,  1 867. 
When  he  reached  the  diocese  there  were  but  five  priests  left  in 
the  whole  St?ite,  and  of  the  institutions  naugjht  remained  but  three 


k; 


276 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERABCH7  IN  THE  UNITED  STATB& 


houses  of  Sisters   of  Mercy.    The  Catholic  population  in  the 
State  and  in  Indian  Territory  was  estimated  at  sixteen  hundred. 
Bishop  Fitzgerald  found  much  to  be  done,  and  absolutely  no  re- 
sources, but  he  endeavored  to  attract  Catholic  immigrants  to  the 
State.     For  a  time  Germans  and  Poles  came  to  settle  in  Arkan- 
sas, so  that  in  1884  the  Catholic  body  had  risen  to  about  seven 
thousand ;  but  there  is  very  slight  increase  now.     The  annual 
baptisms  are  about  375.     In  such  dioceses,  especially  where  the 
flocks  are  too  few  and  too  poor  to  maintain  separate  pastors,  the 
hope  of  religion  rests  on  those  orders  which,  vowed  to  poverty 
and  o'- 'dionce,  labor  more  earnestly  because  they  are  susttdned 
by  the  spirit  of  their  institute  and  the  co-operation  of  brother  re- 
lia;ior.(  •     iiishop  Fitzgerald  called  to  his  aid  the  ancient  order  of 
8-    'jenedict,  whp  founded  a  priory  in  Logan  County,  and  take 
ci    ^3-c  of  several  missions;  and  also  the  Fathers  of  the  Holy 
Gho&t      '  036  monastery  is  at  Marienstatt,  in  Conway  County. 
These  ioiigious  make  their  house  a  centre  for  missions  in  several 
counties.     There  Were  in  all,  in  1884,  23  priests  in  the  diocese, 
which  h^s  34  churches  and  4  convent  chapels.     Besides  the  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy,  who  so  heroically  clung  to  the  diocese,  Sistors  of 
Charity,  Sisters   of  St.  Joseph,  and  Benedictine  nuns  are  also 
laboring  there,  and  this  diocese  can  report  16  parochial  schools 
with  1,143  pupils.     Bishop  Fitzgerald  was  one  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Vatican  Council,  and   at  the  time  of  the  conference  of  the 
bishops  of  the  United  States  at  Rome,  in  1883,  was  selected  to 
represent  the  province  of  New  Orleans.    He  also  attended  the 
Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884. 

The  diocese  of  Little  Rock  in  1891  presented  this  statistical 
summary:  29  priests  and  5  seannarians,  45  churches,  1  college,  27 
parochial  schools  with  1,800  pupils,  in  a  Caiaolic  population  of 
9,000. 


mOCESE  OF  LOUISVILLE. 


RIGHT  REV.  BENEDICT  JOSEPH  FLAGET, 

First  Bishop  of  BardsUnon  and  Louisville. 

Bbnediot  Joseph  Flaget  was  born  November  7,  1763,  at 
Contournat,  in  Auvergne,  France,  of  a  family  of  pious  farmers ; 
his  father  died  before  his  birth,  and  his  mother  did  not  long  sur- 
vive. Trained  by  a  good  aunt,  young  Flaget  entered  the  college 
at  Billom,  and  in  time  passed  to  the  University  of  Clermont  to 
study  for  the  priesthood,  as  his  elder  brother  had  already  done. 
The  famous  seminary  of  St.  Sulpice  attracted  him,  and,  completing 
a  thorough  course  there,  Benedict  Joseph  was  ordained  priest  and 
joined  the  community.  He  was  for  some  years  professor  of 
dogmatic  and  subsequently  of  moral  theology  in  the  seminary 
at  Nantes,  till  the  French  Revolution  broke  up  all  institutions  of 
the  kind.  The  good  priest  then  sought  refuge  with  his  family  at 
Billom,  but  he  felt  called  to  the  American  missions,  and  with  the 
consent  of  his  superior,  Rev.  Mr.  Emery,  sailed  for  Baltimore  in 
1792.  Bishop  Carroll  welcomed  the  learned  clergyman  and  sent 
him  to  Vincennes,  where  a  French  priest  was  needed.  Journey- 
ing by  wagon  and  flat-boat,  performing  missionary  duty  wher- 
ever he  could  on  the  route,  Rev.  Mr.  Flaget  reached  Vincennes 
December  21,  1792.  Religion  had  declined  so  that  with  all  his 
exhortation  only  twelve  received  Holy  Communion  on  Christmas 
day.  He  labored  earnestly  to  revive  religion  at  Vincennes  and 
other  little  centres  of  population  where  the  people  had  for  years 
been  deprived  of  all  spiritual  succor.  Recalled  to  Baltimore  in 
April,  1795,  he  descended  the  Mississippi  in  a  boat  to  New 
Orleans  and  embarked  from  that  city  for  Baltimore.  Rev.  Mr. 
Flaget  was  then  for  three  years  chief  prefect  and  one  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  Georgetown  College,  having  the  honor  to  welcome  Wash' 
ington  to  the  institution.     In  1798  he  visited  Cuba  with  the  view 

m      .  ■ 


4 


278 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATEa 


of  establishing  a  house  of  the  Sulpitian  body  on  that  island ;  but 
this  design  being  frustrated,  he  returned  to  Baltimorawith  a  nuni' 
ber  of  young  Cubans  who  desired  to  enter  St.  Mary's  College. 
The  next  eight  years  were  spent  as  professor  in  the  college  or  in 
mission  duties  connected  with  the  church  and  the  parish  attached 
to  it.  The  arrival  of  the  Trappists  in  America  awakened  in  his 
heart  a  desire  to  fly  from  the  world  and  all  its  vicissitudes,  and 
seek  peace  in  the  silent  cloisters  of  that  austere  order,  but  he 
never  attained  his  wish. 

When  the  diocese  of  Baltimore,  which  originally  embraced  all 
the  thirteen  United  States,  was  divided  in  1807,  and  new  sees 
erected,  Bishop  Carroll  recommended  the  Rev.  Mr.  Flaget  for 
the  see  of  Bardstown,  Kentucky.  The  good  priest  at  once  begged 
Archbishop  Carroll  to  obtain  his  release  from  the  dreaded  bur- 
den, and,  failing  to  do  so,  went  to  Europe  for  the  same  object. 
Yielding  at  last  to  the  will  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  he  was 
consecrated  in  the  cathedral,  Baltimore,  by  Archbishop  Carroll, 
assisted  by  Bishops  Cheverus  and  Egan,  on  the  4th  of  November, 
1810.  Friends  made  up  means  to  enable  this  bishop,  apostolic 
in  his  poverty,  to  reach  the  diocese  for  which  he  had  been  con- 
secrated. It  compriised  the  State  of  Kentucky,  then  containing  a 
thousand  Catholics,  with  ten  churches  and  three  priests.  In- 
diana and  Michigan,  with  Tennessee,  were  also  confided  to  his 
care.  He  took  up  his  residence  in  a  log-cabin  sixteen  feet 
square,  and  began  his  labors.  The  congregations  in  the  diocese 
were  frequently  visited ;  a  seminary  was  begun ;  confirmation 
given.  All  was  not  peace,  however ;  there  were  dissensions  to 
appease.  Catholic  doctrines  were  attacked,  and  the  mild  and 
gentle  bishop  was  compelled  to  enter  the  arena,  and,  by  his  learn- 
ing and  solid  reasoning,  silence  his  opponent.  His  visitations  to 
Indiana  and  Michigan  revived  religion  far  and  wide,  and  those 
to  Tennessee  were  the  first  mission  efforts  in  that  State.  In  1817 
he  solicited  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  David  as  his  coad- 
jutor, and  that  clergyman  was  consecrated  in  1819.  Relieved 
thus  of  some  of  his  duties,  devolving  those  nearest  his  cathedral 
on  Bishop  David,  the  venerable  Dr.  Flaget  renewed  his  visita- 
tions. Besides  his  coadjutor  he  consecrated  Bishop  Fenwick,  of 
Cincinnati,   and   went  to   Baltimore  to   consecrate   Archbishop 


;.?S*«'-»W"»'"|^- 


- ^-'r"py*-''^--'^--    ,,i>^,^ 


DIOOESE  OF  LOUISVILU!^ 


979. 


Whitfield.  In  1829  he  attended  the  First  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore,  which  had  so  long  been  d-^iired  by  him.  He  was 
there  received  with  great  veneration  as  the  holy  survivor  of 
Archbishop  Carroll's  associates  in  the  episcopate.  Subsequent  to 
that  council  he,  at  different  times,  consecrated  Bishops  Kenrick, 
Purcell,  Chabrat,  and  Brut6.  Under  his  impulse  and  by  his  co- 
operation two  religious  communities  of  women,  the  Sisters  of 
Loretto  and  Sisters  of  Charity,  had  risen  up  in  his  diocese,  and 
the  ranks  of  his  clergy  were  swelled  by  the  Dominicans  and 
Trappists.  , 

Bishop  Flaget  sought  in  vain  to  resign  his  episcopate.  His 
reputation  for  sanctity,  the  blessings  that  God  evidently  gave 
his  work,  made  the  Sovereign  Pontiffs  refuse  to  deprive  Kentucky 
of  his  presence  as  bishop.  'Ihe  Bishop  of  Bardstown  visited 
Rome,  where  he  was  received  with  great  respect  and  admiration, 
aud  while  in  France  he  was  venerated  as  a  saint.  He  returned 
to  his  diocese  in  the  summer  of  1839,  after  an  absence  of  four 
years,  and  was  welcomed  with  -  pious  joy.  Bishop  Flaget  im- 
mediately resumed  his  duties  and  made  a  thorough  visitation  of 
his  diocese  which  lasted  for  two  years.  In  1841  the  see  of  the 
diocese  was  removed  from  Bardstown  to  Louisville. 

His  first  coadjutor,  Bishop  David,  died  in  1841,  and  in  1847 
Bishop  Chabrat,  whose  sight  was  rapidly  failing,  resigned  to  seek 
a  cure  in  Europe.  In  1848  the  Rev.  Mai-tin  John  Spalding  was 
appointed  coadjutor,  and  on  him  the  chief  episcopal  duties  de- 
volved, as  the  aged  bishop  never  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of 
the  day  when  his  last  coadjutor  was  consecrated. 

Bishop  Flaget  introduced  into  his  diocese  the  Sisters  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  in  1 842 ;  and  in  1848  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  to  his 
great  joy,  consented  to  take  charge  of  St.  Joseph's,  one  of  the  two 
colleges  he  had  founded.  The  Trappists  in  the  same  year  return- 
ed to  his  diocese  and  founded  an  establishment,  which  grew  and 
praspered  with  God's  blessing.  Relieved  from  the  care  of  the 
diocese,  Bishop  Flaget  spent  his  time  in  prayer  or  pious  reading. 
In  the  sutoruer  of  1849  livid  turaore  appeared  on  his  shoulder 
and  lower  limbs,  and  his  health  became  such  that,  to  his  great 
sorrow,  he  was  no  longer  able  to  offer  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the 
Mass,   and  could  only  join  in  it  in  spirit  from  his   room,  an^ 


:380 


THE  CATflOLTC  HIERAROflY  IN  THE  irNIT  KD  STATES. 


adore  our  Lord  at  the  CousecrutioTi  and  at  the  Benedi'^tion  of  '^le 
Blessed  Sao i  anient  when  the  sound  of  the  bell  reached  his  ears. 
He  bore  all  liis  suffei'in^s  \\  ith  the  utmost  patience  and  cheerful- 
ness. On  the  night  of  the  V  i  of  February,  1860,  he  became 
restless  and  slightly  delirious.  At  noon  the  next  day  Bishop 
Spalding,  attended  by  th«  eh'ven  priests  of  the  cit}  administered 
the  Holy  Viaticum  and  Extreme  Unction  to  the  vene-able  pre- 
late, who  was  in  full  possession  of  hia  faculties.  He  followed 
the  profession  of  faith  read  by  his  secretary,  and,  after  a  few 
words  expressing  his  ardent  attachment  to  his  clergy,  religious, 
and  people,  he  i^ave  his  last  solemn  episcopal  benediction. 

After  this  his  lips  moved  in  prayer,  he  pressed  the  crucifix  to 
his  lips,  and  at  half-past  five  in  the  eveni  ig  of  the  11th  calmly 
expired  without  a  strugajle. 

"  He  died  as  he  had  lived,"  says  Bishop  Spalding,  "  a  saint ; 
and  the  last  day  was  perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  impressive 
of  his  whole  life.  Tranquilly,  and  without  a  groan,  did  he  *  fall 
asleep  in  the  Lord  '  like  an  infant  gently  sinking  to  his  rest. ' 

No  bishop  in  this  country  has  ever  been  regarded  as  equalling 
Bishop  Flaget  in  sanctity,  in  the  spirit  of  prayer,  in  the  ardor  of 
his  devotion,  his  firmness,  patience,  and  constant  devotion  to  all 
the  duties  of  his  state.  » 


>     RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  BAPTIST  DAVID, 

^        Bishop  of  Mauricastro  and  of  Bardstown. 

Zoss  Baptist  Mary  David  was  born  near  Nantes,  France, 
in  the  year  1761.  At  the  age  of  seven  he  began  to  study  Latin 
and  music  under  his  uncle,  a  pious  prieat,  and  his  greatest  de- 
light was  to  serve  as  altar-boy.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  en- 
tered the  college  of  the  Oratorians,  from  which  he  passed  to 
the  diocesan  seminary  at  Nantes.  After  receiving  subdeacon's 
orders  he  spent  some  time  in  a  pious  family  as  tutor.  In  1783, 
leaving  been  ordained  deacon,  he  joined  the  Congregation  of  St, 


lo2  hul 

coming 

tinues  \ 

of  Bis! 

but  by 

Bishop 

coadjul 

David 

was  CO 

castro 

consec 

to  his 

calls  ( 

temati 

met  a 

sion,  e 

no  on 

wrote 

great 

attain 

his  B 

of  Bi 


DIOCBSE  OF  LOUISVILLB. 


281 


Sulpice,  and  spent  two  yeai-s  in  retirement  at  Tssy.  After  his 
ordination  as  priest,  September  24,  17  5,  he  became  professor  of 
philosophy,  theology,  and  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  seminary  at 
Angers,  and  remained  there  till  it  was  closed  by  the  infidel 
hordes  of  the  Frencb  Revolution.  Rev.  Mr.  David  then  retired  to 
a  private  family,  but  in  17^2  embarked  with  Rev.  Mr.  Flaget  for 
America.  Bishop  Carroll  confided*  to  him  several  Catholic  con- 
gregations in  Maryland.  Dr.  David  was  the  first  to  give  retreats, 
reaping  great  fruit  in  a  revival  of  piety.  ."ter  being  professor 
for  two  years  at  Georgetown  College  fi"*^  in   8t.   Mary's 

College,  Baltimore,  he  was  appointed  » 'al  superior  of 

the  Sisters  of  Charity.  In  1810  he  aci  ^..^uidd  Bishop  Flaget 
to  Bardstown  and  became  superior  of  his  theological  seminary. 
In  this  position  he  became  builder  and  farmer  as  well  as  theo- 
logian and  director.  His  care  extended  to  the  Catholics  around, 
and  he  founded  the  society  of  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth  in  a 
log  hut,  drawing  up  the'r  rule,  and  by  the  bishop's  orders  be- 
coming their  spiritual  director.  To  this  day  his  community  con- 
tinues to  render  services  to  religion  in  the  West.  On  the  death 
of  Bishop  Egan  he  was  nominated  to  the  see  of  Philadelphia, 
but  by  his  urgent  appeals  obtained  permission  to  decline  it.  But 
Bishop  Flaget  besought  the  Pope  to  appoint  Rev.  Mr.  David  his 
coadjutor,  and  bulls  were  issued  on  the  4th  of  July,  1817.  Dr. 
David  yielded  with  great  reluctance,  and  on  August  16,  1819, 
was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  Bardstown  Bishop  of  Mauri- 
castro  and  coadjutor  of  the  Bishop  of  Bardstown.  After  his 
consecration  he  continued  his  austere  life  in  the  seminary,  adding 
to  his  labors  that  of  rector  of  the  cathedral,  ever  ready  for  sick- 
calls  or  the  confessional.  He  was  never  idle,  and  by  his  sys- 
tematic use  of  time  neglected  none  of  his  manifold  duties.  He 
met  a  Protestant  controversialist  named  Hall  in  an  oral  discus- 
sion, and  refuted  him  so  clearly  and  with  so  much  mildness  that 
no  one  ever  challenged  him  again.  Besides  this  discussion  he 
wrote  several  works  in  defence  of  the  Faith,  which  rendered 
great  service,  and  prepared  "  True  Piety,"  a  prayer-book  which 
attained  the  most  extended  circulation.  Bishop  Flaget  resigned 
his  see  in  1 832,  and  Bishop  David  became  for  a  time  Jiishop 
of  Bardstown ;  but  he  would  not  accept  the  position,  and  th^ 


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282 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIBRABCHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATB& 


Holy  See  reinstated  Bishop  Flaget,  accepting  Dr.  David's  resig- 
nation. 

The  weight  of  years  &t  last  compelled  him  to  retire  from  the 
seminary,  and  he  prepared  for  the  close  of  his  long  and  laborious 
career.    He  died  at  Bardstown  on  the  I'^ith  of  July,  1841. 


RIGHT  REV.  GUY  IGNATIUS  CHABRAT, 

Bishop  of  Bolma  and  Coadjutor  of  Bardstown. 

Guy  Ionatius  Ohabrat  was  born  in  the  village  of  Ghambre, 
France,  on  the  28th  of  December,  1787,  his  parents  being  Peter 
Ghabrat,  a  merchant,  and  Louise  Lavialle.  After  a  pious  youth, 
spent  in  the  best  schools  of  the  day,  he  entered  one  of  the  Sulpi- 
tian  theological  seminaries,  knd  in  1809  had  received  minor  orders 
and  the  subdiaconate.  At  this  time  he  volunteered  to  accom- 
pany Bishop  Flaget  to  Kentucky,  and  embarked  at  Bordeaux 
with  that  holy  bishop  April  10,  1810.  Continuing  his  ecclesias- 
tical and  spiritual  preparation  for  the  priesthood  under  Rev.  Dr. 
David,  he  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Flaget  at  Chiistmas,  1811,  and 
was  the  first  who  received  the  priesthood  in  the  West,  as  Rev. 
Mr.  Badin  was  in  the  East.  Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat  was  at  once 
placed  on  mission  duty  at  St.  MichaePs,  in  Nelson  Co.,  and  St. 
Clare's,  in  Hardin  Co.,  and  for  several  years  showed  himself  an 
active,  prudent,  and  exemplary  priest,  residing  at  Fairfield  and 
making  excursions  to  other  parts  of  the  State.  Bishop  Flaget 
reposed  gi'eat  confidence  in  him,  and  about  1820  sent  him  to 
Europe  to  obtain  aid  for  his  diocese.  After  his  return,  in  1821, 
he  was  for  a  time  superior  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Mission  and 
pastor  of  St.  Pius',  in  Scott  County,  and  in  1824  was  appointed 
superior  of  the  Community  of  Loretto.  From  that  time  the 
direction  of  the  Sisters  and  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Catholics 
in  the  neighborhood  exclusively  engaged  his  attention. 

Somp  years  after,  when  Bishop  Flaget  tendered  his  resigna- 
tion^ he  recoi:|imended  the  appointmc^^^  of  |lev.  Mr.  Chabrat  as 


••if.» 


DIOCESE  OF  LOUISVILLB. 


288 


coadjutoir  to  Bishop  David,  and  tlie  advice  was  taken.  Bishop 
David,  however,  refused  to  accept  the  see,  and  Bishop  Flaget  was 
reinstated,  and  it  was  not  till  1 884  that  bulls  arrived  appointing 
Kev.  Mr.  Ghabrat  Bishop  of  Bolina  and  coadjutor.  He  was  con- 
secrated on  the  20th  of  July  in  the  cathedral  of  Bardstown. 

From  1835  to  1889,  during  the  absence  ojf  Bishop  Flaget, 
Bishop  Ghabrat  administered  the  diocese,  and  even  after  the  re- 
turn of  the  venerable  prelate  the  responsibility  rested  on  him. 
But  his  long,  active  missionary  service  began  to  show  its  in- 
fluence ;  for  several  years  his  health  declined,  and  at  last  he  was 
threatened  with  a  loss  of  sight.  Eminent  oculists  advised  him  to 
visit  Europe.  He  accordingly  asked  to  resign  his  coadjutorship, 
but  the  Fathers  of  the  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1846  were  re- 
luctant to  advise  that  it  should  be  accepted.  The  most  skilful 
men  in  France  in  treating  diseases  of  the  eye  gave  Bishop  Gha- 
brat no  encouragement,  and  he  returned  to  America  to  close  up 
his  affairs.  He  then  left  the  country  for  ever.  On  the  certifi- 
cate of  able  physicians  he  obtained  in  1847,  through  the  Papal 
Nuncio,  the  acceptance  of  the  resignation  of  his  coadjutorship. 
The  Bishop  of  Bolina  then  returned  to  his  father's  house  at 
Mauriac,  preparing  in  seclusion  for  death.  He  became  at  last 
completely  blind,  but  his  health  rallied  and  he  lived  more  than 
twenty  years,  dying  calmly  in  his  native  place,  November  21, 
1868,  in  his  eighty-second  year. 


RIGHT  REV.  PETER  JOSEPH  LAVIALLE,      - 

Third  Bishop  of  I'OuisvUle. 

Peteb  Joseph  Lavialle  was  born  at  Lavialle,  near  Mauriac, 
France,  in  1820,  and  early  prepared  to  leave  the  world  and 
enter  the  ecclesiastical  state.  While  studying  theology  he  was 
invited  by  his  kinsman.  Bishop  Ghabrat,  to.  join  the  diocese  of 
Louisville,  and  crossed  the  ocean  in  1841  to  roraplete  his  studies 
in  the  diocesan  seminary  of  St.  Thomas  at  ij^r  idstown.     After 


284 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIBBAROBT  IN  THB  UNITBD  STATES. 


his  ordination,  in  1844,  he  was  employed  for  some  years  in  the 
cathedral  of  Louisville,  and  in  1849  took  the  chair  of  theology 
in  the  diocesan  seminary  of  St.  Thomas,  and  filled  it  with  dis. 
tinction  till  his  appointment  as  president  of  St.  Mary's  OoUege 
in  1856.  Four  years  afterwards  he  was  nominated  to  the  see  of 
New  Orleans,  but  declined  the  appointment.  When,  however,  at 
the  promotion  of  Bishop  Spalding  to  the  see  of  Baltimore,  bulla 
were  sent  to  Rev.  Mr.  Lavialle  appointing  him  Bishop  of  L6uis< 
ville,  he  was  compelled  to  accept.  He  was  consecrated  Septem< 
ber  24,  1 865,  and  assumed  the  duties  with  conscientious  response 
bility.  He  made  several  visitations  of  his  diocese,  attending  to 
all  details,  and  encouraging  priests  and  people  in  erecting 
churches  and  schools,  as  well  as  laboring  to  suppress  all  abuses 
and  remove  all  obstacles.  Mis  health  was,  however,  extremely 
feeble,  and  in  1867  he  retired  for  a  time  to  St.  Joseph's  Infirmary, 
kept  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  then  went  to  Nazareth,  where 
the  Sisters  did  all  in  their  power  to  minister  to  his  comfort ;  but 
the  disease  was  too  powerful  for  his  feeble  constitution  to  meet. 
He  sank  gradually,  and  died  a  peaceful  and  happy  death  on  Pas- 
sion Sunday,  the  Uth  of  May,  1867,  in  the  residence  of  the  eccle- 
siastical superior  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth. 

Of  this  prelate  the  Hon.  Ben.  J.  Webb  says :  "  Bishop  La- 
vialle was  a  man  to  whom  no  one  accorded  the  possession  of 
extraordinary  natural  ^ents.  He  was  not  eloquent  in  the  pul- 
pit, neither  was  he  foi  :e  as  a  writer.  Judged  by  the  standard 
of  the  world,  he  was  a  plain  man  with  practical  ideas.  But  he 
was  in  reality  n^ach  more  than  all  this.  He  was  a  man  of  God, 
and  he  labored,  not  with  dependence  upon  his  own  strength,  but 
with  the  assurance  that  what  was  lacking  to  him  therein  would 
be  supplied  by  Him  from  whom  was  derived  his  commission." 


DIOOBSB  OF  LOUISVILLE. 


285 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  G.  MoCLOSKEY, 
Fowr^  Bidhop  of  LomsviUe. 

William  George  MoGlosket  was  bom  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y, 
November  10, 1828,  and  made  his  classical  and  theological  studies 
at  Mount  St.  Mary's  College.  He  was  ordained  in  New  York  cathe. 
dral  October  6,  1852,  and  began  the  labors  of  a  missionary  as  assist- 
ant at  the  church  of  the  Nativity  in  New  York,  of  which  his  brother 
was  rector.  His  merit  and  ability  were,  however,  known,  and  with- 
in a  year  or  two  he  was  made  professor  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  College. 
When  Bishop  Elder  was  appointed  to  the  see  of  Natchez  in  1857, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  McCloskey  succeeded  him  as  director  of  the  seminary 
and  professor  of  moral  theology  and  Holy  Scripture.  For  many  years 
he  discharged  his  duties  with  such  ability  that  when  the  Ameri- 
can College  was  founded  at  Rome  by  the  venerable  pontiff  Pope 
Pius  IX.  he  was  selected  as  the  first  president  of  that  institution. 
Its  organization  and  successful  commencement  showed  his  admin- 
istrative power.  His  ability  and  virtues  were  soon  recognized 
at  Rome,  and  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Lavialle  he  was  elected 
to  fill  the  vacant  see.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  24th  of  May, 
1868,  and  began  his  administration  with  a  desire  to  establish  sys- 
tem and  order  throughout  the  diocese.  His  visitations  were  care- 
fully and  strictly  made,  leading  in  some  cases  to  discontent  and 
appeals  from  his  judgment ;  but  in  a  few  years  the  ancient  dio- 
cese was  progressing  in  all  harmony,  and  in  1884  had  107 
churches,  with  138  priests.  There  were  27  academies  and  125 
parochial  schools.  During  his  episcopate  the  Priests  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Resurrection  came  to  the  diocese  to  assume 
charge  of  St.  Mary's  College,  the  Franciscan  and  Carmelite  Fa- 
thers to  labor  among  the  Germans;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Little 
Sisters  of  the  Poor,  and  Franciscan  Sisters  joined  the  older  com- 
munities in  their  special  works  of  charity  and  mercy. 

The  diocese  of  Louisville  in  1891  contained  182  priests  and  16 
seminarians,  120  churches,  114  chapels  and  stations,  3  colleges  and 
25  academies,  132  parochial  schools  with  8,000  pupils,  3  orphan 
asylums,  and  a  Catholic  population  estimated  at  125,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  MANCHESTER. 


ih-- 


RIGHT  REV.  DENIS  M.  BRADLEY, 

First  Bishop  of  Mcmoheater: 

Denis  M.  Bbaolbt  was  bom  in  Ireland  February  25, 1846, 
and  when  eight  years  of  age  came  with  his  mother  to  America. 
Mrs  Bradley  settled  with  her  five  children  at  Manchester,  in  New 
Hampshire,  the  State  in  all  the  North  where  Catholicity  has  had 
its  hardest  straggles.  To  this  day  no  Catholic  can  hold  office  in 
this  mountain  State. 

The  boy  attended  the  Catholic  schools  in  the  town,  and,  evinc- 
ing talent  and  a  desire  for  higher  study,  was  sent  to  the  College 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  Worcester,  Mass.  After  being  graduated  at 
that  institution  he  entered  St.  Joseph^s  Provincial  Seminary, 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  was  ordained  there  by  Bishop  McQuaid,  of 
Rochester,  on  the  3d  of  June,  1871.  Bishop  Bacon,  of  Portland, 
to  whose  diocese  the  young  priest  belonged,  appointed  him  to  the 
cathedral,  where  he  remained  during  the  lifetime  of  that  prelate, 
acting  during  the  last  two  years  as  rector  of  the  cathedral  and 
chancellor  of  the  diocese,  and  continuing  to  discharge  the  same 
duties  under  Bishop  Healy  till  June  16,  1880,  when  he  was  made 
pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Church,  Manchester.  N.  H.  When  it  was 
decreed  at  Rome  that  New  Hampshire  should  be  detached  from 
the  diocese  of  Portland  and  constituted  into  a  separate  diocese, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Bradley  was  recommended  for  the  new  see  by  the 
bishops  of  the  province,  his  zeal  and  services  in  parochial  duties 
and  his  experience  in  diocesan  affairs  fitting  him  for  the  episco- 
pate. He  was  appointed  by  Pope  Leo  XUL,  and  consecrated 
June  11,  1884. 

The  first  church  in  New  Hampshire  was  erected  in  1823  by 
the  convert  Itev.  Virgil  H.  Barber.  By  1833  there  was  a  second 
church  at  Dover,  but  not  a  priest  resident  in  the  whole  State. 

S86  ~ 


DIOCESE  OF  MANCHESTER. 


287 


Even  tea  years  later,  and  dowu  to  1847,  there  were  but  these  two 
churches,  though  they  had  priests  and  Portsmouth  was  regularly 
attended.  In  1847  a  church  was  begun  at  Manchester  by  the  Rev. 
William  McDonald,  the  father  of  Catholicity  in  New  Hampshire. 

On  the  establishment  of  the  see  of  Portland  there  were  only 
these  three  churches  in  the  State ;  but  Catholicity  then  began  to 
gain  strength.  Mother  Mary  Francis  Warde  established  at  Man- 
chester a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  which  soon  had  under 
the  Sisters  an  academy,  parochial  schools,  and  an  orphan  asylum. 
When  the  diocese  of  Portland  wab  ten  years  old  New  Hampshire 
had  seven  churches  and  as  many  priests ;  in  1873  they  had  grown 
to  eighteen  priests  and  sixteen  churches — Manchester  alone  hav- 
ing three  churches,  thus  taking  lead  as  the  Catholic  centre  of  the 
State. 

When  Bishop  Bradley  was  installed  as  Bishop  of  Manchester, 
in  1884,  he  had  42  priests  in  his  diocese  and  37  churches  or  chap 
els.  The  Catholic  population  of  the  State  was  about  60,000,  and 
there  were  3,500  children  in  the  Catholic  schools.  The  large 
manufacturing  tqwns  contained  numbei*s  of  Catholic  operatives, 
and  there  were  many  Catholic  farmers,  and  the  different  congre- 
gations were  easily  reached. 

Soon  after  the  consecration  of  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Bradley  the 
alumni  of  St.  Joseph's  Provincial  Seminary  resolved  to  honor  the 
first  bishop  appointed  from  their  number,  and  presented  to  Bishop 
Bradley  a  fine  testimonial. 

In  1891  there  were  in  this  diocese  53  churches  and  2  in  pro- 
cess of  building,  served  by  59  secular  and  2  regular  priests ;  20 
seminarians,  10  brothers  of  the  Christian  schools,  9  brothers  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  and  8  Marist  brothers,  170  Sisters  of  Mercy,  22 
sisters  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  30  sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  34  nuns 
of  various  orders ;  1 7  convents,  5  academies  for  young  ladies,  2 
high-schools  for  boys,  56  parochial  schools  equally  divided  between 
boys  and  girls,  viMh  7,500  pupils  of  both  sexes ;  3  orphan  asylums, 
1  hospital,  I  horn  ^  for  aged  women,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
73,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  MARQUEnE. 


RIGHT  REV.  FREDERIC  BARAGA^ 

First  Bishop  of  Marquette  and  Saut  Ste,  Marie, 

Frederic  Babaoa  was  bom  on  the  29th  of  June,  1797,  in 
Treffen  Oastle,  Carniola,  the  home  of  his  noble  and  wealthy 
parents.    He  received  his  earliest  instruction  under  private  tutora, 
and  during  his  college  life  distinguished  himself  by  his  rapid 
progress  in  Illyrian,  German,  French,  Italian,  and  I^atin.    Af- 
ter studying  law  for  five  years  at  the  University  of  Vienna  he 
felt  himself  called  to  a  higher  vocation.    Entering  on  a  course  of 
theology,  he  was  ordained ,  in  1823.    Seven  years  were  spent  in 
zealous  work  as  a  priest  and  in  prepaiing  popular  devotional 
works  in  Sclavonic,  which  are  still  highly  esteetned.     Resolving 
to  devote  himself  to  the  Indian  missions  in  America,  he  landed 
in  New  York   December  31,  1830,  and  as  soon  as  navigation 
opened  hastened  to  the  field  he  had  selected  in  Michigan,  where 
he  was  to  labor  till  his  death.      His  large  property  in  Europe  he 
resigned  to  his  brothers  and  sisters,  retaining  only  an  annuity 
of  $300,  and  even  that   he   ultimately  renounced.     He  came 
to  America  to  face  poverty  and  hardship.    When  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  the  Indian   country,  northern  Michigan,  espe- 
cially the  Lake  Superior  district,  was  an  almost  unbroken  wil- 
derness, known  only  to  the  Indian  and  trapper.    The  devoted 
priest  found  that  the  religious  ideas  implanted  among  the  In- 
dians In  early  times  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  were  nearly  effaced. 
He  soon  acquired  influence  among  the  Indians  and  half-breeds, 
gathered  them  together,  induced  them  to  build  cabins,  obtained 
for  them  simple  tools  and  implements,  and  encouraged  them  to 
work  and  adopt  the  habits  of  civilized  people.    Having  mastered 
their  language,  his  influence  was  great,  and  soon  extended  to 
other  points.    Travelling  like  the  Indians,  enduring  eidiraordinary 


DtOOBSfi  Ot  ItARQUime. 


280 


hardships  and  privations,  during  his  long  years  of  missionary  life 
among  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  Rev.  Mr.  Baraga  was  their 
father,  guide,  and  pastor.  Besides  entablishing  the  missions  of 
Arbre  Groche,  Orand  Traverse,  and  Grand  River,  on  Lake  Michi* 
gan,  from  1881  to  1886,  and  those  of  Lapointe,  Fond  du  Lao,  Bad 
River,  and  L'Anse,  on  Lake  Superior,  from  1885  to  1868,  he  regu- 
larly visited  the  small  bands  of  Indians  scattered  along  the 
shores  and  on  the  islands  of  both  lakes  from  Grand  Haven  to  Su* 
perior  City.  Amid  all  these  labors,  travelling  by  canoe  or  in  win* 
ter  on  snow-shoes  amid  the  greatest  cold  of  winter,  the  laborious 
missionary  found  time  to  prepare  a  series  of  works  in  Ottawa  and 
Chippewa — catechisms,  prayer-books,  and  devotional  works  for 
his  spiritual  children,  books  that  he  had  educated  them  to  use ; 
while  for  the  assistance  of  clergymen  who  came  to  share  or  suc- 
ceed in  his  labors  he  prepared  an  invaluable  grammar  and  dic- 
tionary of  the  Otchipwe^  or  Chippewa  language,  a  work  since  re- 
printed in  Canada  to  meet  the  demand  for  it  among  missionaries. 
The  catalogue  of  North  American  Linguistics  issued  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  gives  the  titles  of  no  fewer  than  sixteen 
of  Bishop  Baraga's  works  in  Indian  languages. 

When  white  people  began  to  settle  in  his  district  he  minis- 
tered with  his  wonted  zeal  to  all  their  settlements  in  the  upper 
peninsula.  Wherever  Rev.  Mr.  Baraga  appeared  his  humanity, 
his  disinterested  zeal  and  true  Christian  charity,  joined  with  re- 
markable abstemiousne'^  end  utter  disregard  of  comfoi*t,  gained 
for  him  the  unbounded  r  >spect  as  well  as  the  love  of  all  who 
came  in  contact  with  him. 

When,  at  the  instance  of  Bishop  Lefevre,  the  Holy  See  in 
1 853  detached  the  northern  peninsula  of  Michigan  from  the  dio- 
cese of  Detroit,  forming  it  into  a  vicariate-apostolic,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Baraga  was  selected  to  direct  it.  He  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Amyzoniif  and  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Upper  Michigan 
on  the  feast  of  All  Saints  in  the  year  1853.  The  vicariate  em- 
braced the  northern  peninsula  with  the  adjacent  islands,  con- 
taining at  the  time  six  churches,  five  priests,  and  five  schools. 
But  Bishop  Lefevre  ceded  to  him  his  power,  authority,  and 
jurisdiction  over  five  counties  in  the  southern  peninsula,  and  the 
Bishop  of  Milwaukee  ceded  to  him  jurisdiction  over  the  Apostle 


2V0 


THE  OATHULIO  HIBRARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


islands  in  Lake  Superior,  and  the  Bishop  of  Dubuque  made  a 
similar  cession,  so  that  he  had  in  a  short  time  sixteen  pnests, 
with  fourteen  churches  and  six  thousand  Catholics,  under  his 
care. 

His  exaltation  to  the  episcopate  made  no  change  in  his  de- 
poiiiment.  He  remained  a  missionary  to  the  last.  After  visit* 
ing  Rome,  Austria,  France,  and  Ireland  in  the  interest  of  his 
diocese,  he  took  up  his  lonely  abode  at  Saut  Ste.  Marie,  where 
for  several  years  he  did  all  the  duties  of  a  pastor  among  the 
neighboring  Indians,  as  zealous,  patient,  and  charitable  as  ever. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  !.b57,  the  diocese  of  Saut  Ste.  Marie, 
or  Marianopolis,  was  erected,  and  Bishop  Baraga  was  transferred 
to  the  new  see.  A  journey  in  sleigh  and  snow-shoes  to  attend 
the  council  in  1862  undermined  his  constitution.  He  never  re- 
covered from  the  exposure,  having  reached  Thunder  Bay  sick 
and  almost  frozen.  On  the  15th  of  October,  1865,  the  see  was 
transfeiTed  to  Marquette,  where  he  took  up  his  residence,  making 
St.  Peter's  his  cathedral.  Early  in  1866  paralysis,  hereditary  in 
the  family,  showed  itself  in  his  hand,  but  he  continued  active  in 
discharging  his  duties,  and  in  September  preached  sermons  at 
Hancock  in  three  languages.  He  set  out  soon  after  to  attend  the 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  and  during  its  sessions  was  struck 
down  with  apoplexy  on  the  steps  of  the  archiepiscopal  palace. 
The  assembled  bishops  in  vain  urged  him  to  retire  and  in  the 
home  of  some  of  his  brethren  pass  his  remaining  days  in  well- 
earned  repose.  Bishop  Baraga  determined  to  die  at  his  post,  and 
returned  to  Lake  Superior.  There  he  resumed  his  missionary 
work,  teaching,  baptizing,  hearing  confessions,  and  visiting  per- 
sons less  sick  than  himself.  But  his  infirmities  increased,  and  he 
could  leave  his  room  only  to  hear  Mass  on  Sundays  and  holi- 
days. Then  he  spent  his  time  in  prayer  and  meditation.  On 
the  eve  of  Epiphany,  1868,  he  received  a  warning  of  his  ap- 
proaching dissolution,  and,  strengthened  by  the  sacraments,  ex- 
pired, after  a  short  agony,  on  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Name  of 
Jesus,  January  19,  1868. 


DI0CB8B  OF  MARQUBTTB. 


391 


RIGHT  REV.  IGNATIUS  MRAK, 

Stoond  Bishop  of  Marquette  and  8aut  Ste.  Marie, 

Ignatius  Mbak  was  born  at  POlland,  in  Carniola,  a  province 
of  the  Austro*Hungarian  Empire,  on  the  10th  of  October,  1810, 
and,  after  a  thorough  course  of  study,  was  ordained  on  the  Idth  of 
August,  1887.    Having  spent  eight  years  in  mission  labor  in  his 
own  country,  he  came  to  the  United  States  in  1845,  beginning 
his  labors  as  an  Indian  missionary  at  Aibre  Croche,  where  he 
became  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Francis  Pierz.    In  this  and  two  de- 
pendent stations  there  were    fifteen   hundred  Ottawa  Indians 
with  their  churches  and  schools.    On  the  10th  of  July,  1847, 
Bishop  Lefevre  confided  to  Kev.  Mr.  Mrak  the  missions  of  La 
Croix,    Middletown,   Castor   Island,   and   Manistee,   containing 
MX  hundred  souls,  which  he  attended,  s^ill  residing  at  Arbre 
Croche.    He  soon  took  up  his  abode  at  St.  Anthony's  Church, 
La  Croix,  and  continued  from  it  to  attend  Middletown  two  years 
after  Bishop  Baraga  was  made  vicar-apostolic,  in  1853.     Then 
he  was  stationed  at  Eagle  Town,  on  Grand  Traverse  Bay,  where 
his  church  and  school  kept  the  faith  of  a  large  district  alive. 
In  1860  he  was  made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Saut  Ste. 
Marie,  and  from  Eagle  Town  attended  ten  different  stations.    On 
the  death  of  Bishop  Baraga  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mrak  and  his  missions, 
which  had  been  ceded  only  to  the  late  bishop,  returned  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  see  of  Detroit.     Rev.  Mr.  Mrak  was,  how- 
ever,  soon  selected  to  fill  the  vacant  see,  and  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Marquette  in  the  cathedral  at  Cincinnati  by  Arch- 
bishop Purcell,  assisted  by  Bishops  Lefevre  and  Henni,  on  the 
7th  of  February,  1869.     On  assuming  direction  Bishop  Mrak 
found  the  diocese  with  21  churches,  15 -priests,  and  about  22,000 
Catholic  souls.     He  governed  it  ably  for  several  years,  but,  find- 
ing infirmities  to  increase  with  years,  he  resigned  in  1878,  and  was 
transferred  to  the  see  of  Antinoe  on  the  14th  of  May,  lb81.    He 
continued  to  reside  at  Marquette,  acting  as  chaplain  to  the  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph  in  their  chapel  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  but  in 
1884  removed  to  Eagle  Town.    He  is  regarded  as  a  prelate  of 
great  learning  and  remarkable  linguistic  attainments. 


i"»^^R^^>  ' 


i^Ms 


!^.^  ^ *^ V ^1 ' ^ '    I,  W'";  '' J, "    -^^  .: Vi' iw^  '^^^y* 


f9S  TBI  OATHOUO  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  VERTIN. 

Third  Bishop  of  Marquette  and  Saut  8te.  AfarU, 

John  Vertin  was  born  on  the  17th  of  July,  1844,  at  Rudolft 
werth,  Carniola,  and,  after  making  his  preparatory  and  collegium 
course  in  his  native  country,  came  to  the  United  States  July  7, 
1863,  when  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  His  father,  whose 
mercantile  affairs  brought  him  across  the  Atlantic,  placed  him 
under  the  care  of  the  great  Bishop  Baraga.  That  prelate  re- 
ceived the  pious  youth  into  his  diocese,  and  sent  him  to  the 
t^alesianum  to  complete  his  theological  studies.  Archbishop 
Ifenni  conferred  minor  orders  on  him  in  1865,  and  on  the  3l8t 
of  August  of  the  next  year  he  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop 
Baraga  in  Marquette,  being  the  first  ordained  in  that  place,  and 
the  last  on  whom  the  eminent  bishop  conferred  holy  orders. 

The  young  priest  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  mission  at 
Houghton;  where  he  remained  five  yeai's,  and  he  then  labored 
for  seven  among  the  Catholics  of  Negaunee,  both  difficult  mis- 
sions, as  the  flock  was  composed  of  men  of  different  origin,  wlio 
spoke  English,  German,  and  French.  On  the  resignation  of 
Bishop  Mrak  the  bishops  of  the  province  sent  to  Rome  the 
name  of  Right  Rev.  Doctor  Vertin  as  his  successor.  He  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Heiss,  assisted  by  Bishops  Borgess 
and  Spalding,  on  the  14th  of  September,  1879,  his  parents,  who 
had  settled  at  Hancock,  living  to  see  the  exaltation  of  their  son. 
The  diocese  has  prospered  under  his  rule,  and  in  1891  was 
estimated  as  containing  forty-eight  thousand  whites  and  between 
two  and  three  thousand  Indians.  Fifty-two  priests  labor  there, 
attending  fifty  churches  and  chapels  as  well  as  seventy-one  de- 
pendent stations.  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  St.  Agnes,  and  of  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  direct  academies,  schools,  and  an 
orphan  asylum.  Bishop  Vertin  has  completed  St.  Peter's  Cathe- 
dral at  Marquette,  a  fine  structure. 


'  Rudolffi. 
foUegiuie 

July  7, 
»»•,  whose 

ced  him 
elate  le- 
»  to  the 
-li  bishop 
the  3l8t 

Bishop 
ace,  and 
)r8. 

ssion  at 
iabored 
alt  mis- 
in,  who 
tion  of 
me  the 
le  was 
Jorgess 
8,  who 
ir  son. 
1  was 
ftween 
there, 
ne  de- 
>f  the 
d  an 


n 


f>  'I 


J:i^ 


\ 


DIOCESE  OF  MOBEE. 


RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  PORTIER^ 

First  BiaJuyp  of  Mobile. 

Michael  Portibr  was  born  at  Montbrison,  France,  Septem- 
ber  7, 1 795,  and  was  trained  to  piety  even  amid  the  terrible  days 
of  the  French  Revolution.  His  early  studies  did  not  chill  his 
fervor,  and  he  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Lyons,  and 
when  Bishop  Dubourg,  of  Louisiana,  appealed  for  missionaries, 
young  Portier  was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  the  call.  He 
accompanied  that  prelate  to  America,  and  landed  at  Annapolis, 
Md.,  September  4,  1817.  Having  completed  his  studies  under 
the  Sulpitians  at  Baltimore,  he  received  the  diaconate,  and  was 
ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Dubourg  at  St.  Louis  in  1818.  In  his 
first  year  he  was  nearly  carried  off  by  yellow  fever,  taken  while 
attending  the  sick,  but  recovered,  and  with  a  few  assistants  open- 
ed a  Catholic  collegiate  institute  at  New  Orleans,  and  soon  after 
became  vicar-general.  The  diocese  of  Louisiana  then  embraced 
all  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  Florida,  with  the 
intervening  Gulf  shore.  The  Holy  See  saw  the  necessity  of 
dividing  this  immense  territoiy  and  confiding  portions  to  sepa- 
rate bishops.  Mississippi  and  Alabama  were  erected  into  a 
vicariateapostolic,  and  Pope  Pius  VII.,  by  bull  of  January  21, 
1823,  annexed  to  it  Florida.  By  a  subsequent  bull  of  July  14 
Mississippi  as  a  vicariate  was  restored  to  the  Bishop  of  New 
Orleans.  The  new  vicariate  was  thus  composed  of  Alabama  and 
Florida;  and  for  its  government  the  Very  Rev.  Michael  Por- 
tier was  selected.  He  was  most  reluctant  to  assume  such  a  re- 
sponsibility, but  finally  yielded,  and  was  consecrated  by  Bish- 
op Rosati  at  St.  Louis,  November  5,  1826.  His  jurisdiction  in- 
cluded the  two  old  Spanish  Catholic  cities  of  St.  Augustine, 
founded  in  1566,  and  Pensacola,  in  1696,  each  with  its  church 
and  its  congregation  of  the  faithful.    In  Spanish  times  Florida 


'r  !p^;  •■'■!  »A,v. 


294 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


had  been  a  missionary  field,  where  Dominican,  Jesuit,  and  Fiar. 
ciscan  Fathers  shed  their  blood  in  their  heroic  efforts  to  conveifc 
the  Indians,  some  perishing  by  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  and 
some  by  the  hands  of  bigoted  and  fanatical  English  invaders. 
Florida  had  been,  from  its  settlement  in  the  province  of  Santo 
Domingo,  subject  directly  to  the  Bishop  of  Santiago  de  Cuba, 
and  from  1787  to  1793  to  the  Bishop  of  St.  Christopher  of  Ha- 
vana.  The  Indian  missions  had  vanished,  destroyed  by  the  Eng- 
lish and  their  dusky  allies ;  the  streets  of  the  little  cities,  where 
Catholic  processions  and  pilgrimages  had  so  often  passed,  with 
priests  and  religious,  on  their  way  to  hermitage  and  shrine,  now 
seldom  beheld  the  occasional  visits  of  priests.  Catholics  of  other 
races  were  coming  slowly  in,  but  Bishop  Portier  had  everything 
to  revive  and  to  restore.  He  was  the  only  clergyman  in  his 
vicariate.  "  I  need  two  or  three  priests,"  he  wrote,  "  c*nd  dare  not 
ask  for  them,  as  I  am  afraid  I  cannot  now  support  them.  I  have 
neither  pectoral  cross  nor  chapel,  neither  crosier  nor  mitre." 
To  add  to  his  difficulties,  the  little  church  at  Mobile  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  October,  1827,  Bishop  Portier  made  a  visita- 
tion of  his  vicariate  as  a  missionary  priest,  beginning  at  Mobile 
and  riding  on  horseback  to  Pensacola,  Tallahassee,  St.  Augustine, 
till  his  overtaxed  system  gave  way  and  he  was  prostrated  with 
fever.  As  soon  as  he  could  secure  one  priest  to  attend  the  west- 
em  part,  and  having  induced  Bishop  England  to  supply  St. 
Augustine  for  a  time,  Bishop  Portier  went  to  Europe  in  1829. 
He  returned  at  the  close  of  the  year  with  two  priests  and  four 
ecclesiastics.  During  his  absence  the  Holy  See  had  erected  Mo- 
bile into  an  episcopal  see  in  the  province  of  Santiago  de  Cuba, 
and  Bishop  Portier  was  transferred  to  it.  The  ancient  French 
city,  where  a  parish  had  been  canonically  erected  July  20,  1703, 
thus  became  the  residence  of  a  bishop.  Dr.  Portier  soon  reached 
it  and  began  the  erection  of  a  little  church  twenty  feet  wide  by 
thirty  in  depth,  the  modest  cathedral  in  which  he  was  enthroned. 
His  two-roomed  frame  palace  of  still  more  modest  dimensions  ad- 
joined it.  With  his  little  force  of  priests  he  began  to  meet  the 
wants  of  his  flock,  collecting  congregations  and  preparing  for 
the  erection  of  churches  at  Montgomery,  Tuscaloosa,  Hunts ville, 
Moulton,  and  Florence. 


DIOOBSB  OF  HOBILB. 


295 


One  of  his  first  steps  was  to  secure  property  at  Spring  Hill, 
near  Mobile,  where  a  college  was  soon  under  the  presidency  of 
Rev.  Mathias  Lores,  welcoming  Catholic  students.  It  subsists 
to  the  present  time,  having  been  for  a  season  directed  by  the 
Eudists  and  by  the  Priests  of  Mercy. 

In  1832  he  obtained  a  colony  of  Visitation  nuns  from 
Georgetown,  who  founded  a  convent  and  academy  that  have  for 
more  than  sixty  years  drawn  blessings  on  the  diocese.  Four 
years  afterwards  Bishop  Portier  replaced  his  poor  cathedral  by  a 
temporary  brick  structure,  having  laid  the  comer-stone  of  the 
cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  in  1835.  Owing  to  the 
poverty  of  his  diocese  it  was  not  completed  and  dedicated  till 
December  8,  1850,  his  pro-cathedral  then  becoming  an  orphan 
asylum  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and  Brothers  of  Christian 
iDstruction.  The  Sistera  opened  soon  after  an  academy  at  St. 
Augustine.  In  1846  the  Jesuit  Fathers  entered  the  diocese  and 
assumed  charge  of  Spring  Hill  College. 

By  1850  there  were  churches  at  Montgomery,  Spring  Hill, 
Summerville,  Mount  Vernon,  Fish  River,  Tuscaloosa,  and  Pensa* 
cola.  In  this  year  the  eastern  part  of  Florida  was  detached 
from  the  diocese  of  Mobile  and  given  to  the  newly-erected  see 
of  Savannah. 

Bishop  Portier  labored  incessantly  in  and  for  his  diocese,  visit* 
ing  Europe  in  its  behalf  in  1849.  In  the  Provincial  Councils  of 
Baltimore  and  New  Orleans,  as  well  as.  in  the  First  Plenary  Sy- 
nod, his  learning  and  experience  commanded  the  ^espect  of  all. 

One  of  his  last  acts  was  the  establishment  of  an  infirmary  at 
Mobile  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  "When,  after  long  years  of 
episcopal  service.  Bishop  Portier  found  himself  attacked  by  a 
serious  malady,  he  retired  to  this  institution,  and,  edifying  all  by 
the  patience  and  piety  with  which  he  supported  his  long  and  ae- 
vere  sufferings,  he  died  on  the  14th  of  May,  1859.  The  whole 
city  joined  with  the  Catholics  in  their  regret  and  sympathy  on 
the  loss  sustained  by  the  death  of  so  truly  apostolic  a  prelate. 


296 


THB  OATHOUO  HIBBAB0H7  IN  TBB  UNITED  8TATBB. 


EIGHT  REV.  JOHN  QUINLAN, 

Second  Bishop  of.MohUe, 

John  Quinlan  was  born  in  Cloyne,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  on 
the  19th  of  October,  1826,  and  began  his  studies  in  a  well- 
known  classical  school  in  Midleton.  When  he  was  eighteen 
he  accompanied  his  widowed  mother  to  the  United  States,  and 
desiring  to  give  his  life  to  the  service  of  God,  applied  to  Arch- 
bishop Purcell,  by  whom  he  was  placed  at  Mount  St.  Mary's, 
Emmittsburg.  He  was  ordained  priest  in  1853  by  Dr.  Purcell, 
Kichard  Gilmour,  his  fellow-student,  receiving  the  holy  order,  at 
the  same  time.  After  two  yeai*s'  service  at  Piqua,  Ohio,  he  be- 
came assistant  to  the  Bev.  James  F.  Wood,  pastor  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's Church,  Cincinnati.  He  was  soon  selected  for  a  position 
of  greater  responsibility,  that  of  superior  at  the  theological  semi- 
nary near  Cincinnati  known  as  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West, 
where  he  filled  also  the  chairs  of  philosophy  and  theology. 
When  the  see  of  Mobile  fell  vacant  by  the  death  of  Bishop  Por- 
tier,  the  bishops  of  the  province  of  New  Orleans  and  Archbishop 
Purcell  recommended  his  appointment.  He  was  consecrated  on 
the  4th  of  December,  1859,  by  Archbishop  Blanc  in  St.  Louis' 
Cathedral,  New  Orleans.  'Bishop  Quinlan  was  installed  in  the 
cathedral  of  Mobile  on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 
In  spite  of  the  long  and  earnest  labors  of  Bishop  Portier,  the  dio- 
cese was  in  by  no  means  a  flourishing  condition ;  there  were 
twelve  churches  and  fourteen  schools,  for  which  he  had  but  eight 
secular  priests,  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of  Spring  Hill  College,  eight- 
een in  number,  directing  that  institution  and  attending  several 
missions  in  Alabama. 

After  visiting  Rome  he  proceeded  to  Ireland,  where  he  obtain- 
ed in  the  seminaries  of  that  Catholic  island  eleven  young  candi- 
dates for  holy  orders  who  volunteered  to  become  missionaries  in 
his  diocese.  Before  he  could  carry  out  any  of  the  projects  for 
the  extension  of  the  faith  Civil  War  swept  over  the  land,  imposing 
new  duties  and  entailing  great  disasters  on  his  struggling  dibcese. 


DIOCBSB  OF  MOBILB. 


297 


After  the  battle  of  Shiloh^  Bishop  Quinlan  hastened  to  the  field 
in  a  special  train  and  ministered  to  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
wants  of  both  armies.  Some  of  his  priests  were  sent  as  chaplains 
to  the  Catholic  soldiers  in  the  Confederate  armies,  sharing  all  the 
perils  of  battle  while  ministering  to  the  wounded  on  the  field. 
During  the  war  the  churches  of  Pensacola  and  Warrington  were 
destroyed  and  many  of  the  congregations  scattered.  As  soon 
as  peace  was  restored  the  Bishop  of  Mobile  began  the  work  of 
restoration,  crippled  with  debt,  and  finding  few  resources  in  his 
diocese  and  little  help  from  without.  Besides  the  ruined 
churches  which  he  rebuilt,  he  erected  St.  Patrick's  and  St  Mary's 
churches  in  Mobile,  and  established  churches  at  Hunts ville,  De- 
catur, Tuscumbia,  Florence,  Cullman,  Birmingham,  Eufaula, 
Whistler,  and  Three  Mile  Creek. 

He  attended  the  canonization  of  the  martyrs  of  Japan,  China, 
and  Corea  on  the  29th  of  June,  1867,  and  in  1869  attended  the 
Vatican  Council  in  the  Eternal  City.  He  also  took  part  in  the 
Provincial  Councils  of  New  Orleans.  In  a  later  visit  to  Home 
in  1882  he  contracted  the  fatal  Campagna  fever,  and  never  re- 
covered from  its  effects,  his  enfeebled  frame  yielding  readily  to 
an  attack  of  pneumonia.  On  the  last  day  of  the  year  1882  he 
became  the  guest  of  Rev.  Mr.  Massardier,  of  New  Orleans,  hoping 
for  relief  from  a  change  of  air ;  the  improvement  was  very  slight, 
and  in  March  the  pain  became  great.  He  blessed  his  vicar-gene- 
ral, and  in  his  person  the  clergy  and  laity  of  his  diocese,  and,  re- 
ceiving the  last  sacraments,  with  calmness  prepared  for  death. 
He  retained  his  consciousness,  and  was  absorbed  in  prayer,  repeat- 
ing invocations  of  the  holy  names  of  Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  and 
petitions  for  mercy,  till  he  breathed  his  soul  into  the  hands  of 
his  Maker. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  his  administration  was  to  invite  the 
ancient  order  of  St.  Benedict  to  assume  charge  of  missions  in 
Alabama.  He  developed  schools  as  much  as  possible,  establish- 
ing Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and  Mercy  in  many  of  tlie  parishes  of 
his  diocese. 


298 


THE  OATHOLIO  HIBBABCHT  IN  THB  X7NITBD  STATES. 


RIGHT  REV.  DOMINIC  MANUOY, 

Vicar- ApoatoUo  of  BrownsviUe  and  Third  Bishop  of  Mobile. 

DoHiNio  Manuot  was  bom  at  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  Decem- 
ber 20,  1823,  of  parents  both  natives  of  that  ancient  Catholic 
territory,  his  ancestors — Italian  and  Irish  on  the  father's  side  and 
Spanish  on  the  mother's — ^having  settled  in  Florida  soon  after  the 
middle  of  the  last  century.  He  was  sent  to  Spring  Hill  College, 
and  was  graduated  in  that  seat  of  learning.  After  preparing  by 
study  and  prayer  for  the  reception  of  that  sublime  dignity,  he 
was  ordained  priest  on  the  feast  of  the  Assumption,  1850,  by  the 
venerable  Bishop  Portier,  of  Mobile. 

He  was  employed  on  several  of  the  laborious  missions  of  the 
diocese  of  Mobile,  as  well  as  at  the  cathedral.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War  he  took  charge  of  the  mission  of  Montgomery, 
where  he  labored  zealously  for  ten  years.  The  very  large  diocese 
of  Galveston  was  divided  in  1874,  and,  besides  the  new  bishopric 
of  San  Antonio,  a  vicariate-apostolic  was  foi-med  embracing  the 
territory  lying  along  the  Bio  Grande.  The  climate  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  country  repel  immigration,  and  the  district  is  occupied 
mainly  by  a  population  of  Mexican  origin  living  in  scattered 
ranches,  who  subsist  by  raising  and  attending  vast  herds  of 
cattle.  These  people  are  Catholics,  whose  religion  has  suffered 
greatly  by  the  infidel  doctrines  prevalent  in  Spanish-America  and 
by  contact  with  degraded  and  bigoted  Americans.  Rev.  Mr. 
Manucy  was  selected,  September  18,  1874,  to  organize  this  vica- 
riate, and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Dulma  in  the  cathedral  of 
Mobile  on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  The  new 
bishop  found  that  the  whole  system  for  the  maintenance  of  re- 
ligion among  the  rancheros  must  be  adapted  to  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants.  The  mass  of  the 
people  hav6  no  fixed  home  or  fireside,  but  lead  a  nomadic  life, 
following  flocks  and  herds  which  are  seldom  their  own.  The 
pnly  way  to  reach  them  and  keep  the  faith  alive  is  to  be  con- 


II, 


!?P  of  Mobile. 


Most  Rev.  John  Jos.  Lynch,  D.D., 
Late  Archbishop  of  Toronto. 


Ml 


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as  their  < 

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schools ; 

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at  San  I 

to  maim 

'the  you 

Oblate 

Much  c 

source  i 

strictioi 

vicariat 

frontiei 

twelve 

faith  a 

Manuc^ 

Mobile 

was  ini 

to  whi( 

and  th< 

restore 

industi 

Th 

ties,  w 

sought 

entreai 

titular 

to  trai 

down 
1885. 


e;.  -'d^^^^^^mt^^m'/'^^^'^^^m 


mooi 


OF  mXmum, 


^99 


stantly  on  the  move  among  them,  enduring  a  life  almost  as  hard 
as  their  own.  This  the  bishop  found  the  Oblate  Fathers  and  a 
few  secular  priests  courageous  enough  to  undertake. 

Aided  by  the  Association  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and 
the  exertions  made  by  himself  and  his  little  band  of  priests, 
Bishop  Manucy  succeeded  in  building  nine  small  churches  to 
serve  as  lighthouses  of  the  faith  in  this  moral  desert.  Five  young . 
men  zealous  enough  to  face  the  labors  of  such  a  mission  were 
ordained  by  him.  He  drew  in  devoted  women  to  undertake 
schools ;  the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word  at  Corpus  Christi  and 
Brownsville,  the  Ursuline  Nuns  at  Laredo,  and  Sisters  of  Meitsy 
at  San  Patricio  and  Refugio  have  academies,  which  enable  them 
to  maintain  free  parochial  schools  for  girls,  and  in  some  cases  for 
'the  younger  boysi.  For  those  more  advanced  there  are  only  the 
Oblate  college  at  Brownsville  and  a  boys*  school  at  Laredo. 
Much  could  be  done  in  missions  and  schools,  were  there  any 
source  from  which  money  could  be  obtained.  With  all  the  re- 
strictions arising  from  scanty  means,  Bishop  Manucy  brought  the 
vicariate  into  the  way  of  spiritual  progress.  The  forty  thousand 
frontier  Catholics  have  twenty-four  churches  and  chapels  and 
twelve  priests.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  aid  >vill  come  to  keep  the 
faith  alive  and  extend  it  On  the  9th  of  March,  1884,  Bishop 
Manucy  received  a  Papal  Brief  transferring  him  to  the  see  of 
Mobile  without  relieving  him  of  his  duties  as  vicar-apostolic.  I}e 
was  installed  in  the  cathedral  on  Passion  Sunday.  The  diocese 
to  which  he  has  so  recently  be<jn  called  has  difSculties  of  its  own, 
and  the  zeal,  patience,  and  ability  of  the  bishop  are  required  to 
restore  it  to  prosperity  and  fit  it  for  the  future  which  the  rising 
industries  of  the  State  will  in  time  create. 

The  burden  of  the  diocese,  encumbered  with  great  difficult 
ties,  was  too  heavy  for  Bishop  Manucy,  and  he  soon  earnestly 
sought  to  be  relieved  from  it.  The  Holy  Father,  yielding  to  hi^ 
entreaties,  accepted  his  resignation  and  transferred  him  to  the 
titular  see  of  Maronea.  Bishop  Manucy  waited  at  Mobile  only 
to  transfer  the  diocese  to  his  successor.    He  was,  however,  struck 

down  by  a  fatal,  illness,  and  died  piously  at  Mobile  December  4, 
1885. 


M 


tttB  OATHOLIO  ttOOUMOBt  tS  ttll  (TKITID  VSA^tM* 


B"^' 


RIGHT  REV.  JEREMIAH  O^SULUVAN,  D.D., 

I^hurth  Bishop  of  Mobile, 

Thk  Right  Ilev.  Jeremiah  O'Sallivan  was  born  at  Kanturk, 
County  Cork,  Ireland,  about  the  year  1844,  and  while  a  student 
resolved  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  Qod.  Coming  to' 
America  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  entered  St.  Charles'  College, 
from  which  he  passed  to  St.  Maiy's  Seminary,  Baltimore.  1 :  e 
was  ordained  by  Archbishop  Spalding  in  June,  1868,  and  was 
first  stationed  at  Barnesville,  Montgomery  County,  Md.  During 
his  nine  years'  pastorate  at  Westemport,  in  that  State,  he  erected 
a  large  church,  and  a  convent  for  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  whom 
he  called  to  his  parish  to  direct  the  schools.  From  this  field  of 
labor  he  was  summoned  to  St.  Peter's  Church,  Washington  City, 
where  his  zeal  and  ability  made  him  widely  known.  Having 
b^en  selected  for  the  see  of  Mobile,  he  was  consecrated  on  the 
20th  of  September,  1885,  and  soon  after  proceeded  to  his  diocese. 

This  important  diocese  has  prospered  under  the  administration 
of  Bishop  O'Sullivan  until,  in  1891,  it  presented  the  following 
summary :  37  priests  and  1 2  ecclesiastical  students,  46  churches, 
2  academies,  19  parochial  schools  with  1,538  pupils,  1  college,  2 
orphan  asylums,  and  1  infirmary,  in  an  estimated  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  35.000. 


DIOCESE.  OF  MONTEREY  AND  LOS  ANGELES. 


RIGHT  REV.  THADDEU8  AMAT, 
Second  Bitkop  of  Monterey  and  Loa  Angeles. 

Thaddeub  Ahat  was  born  at  Barcelonit,  in  Spain,  in  tbe  year 
1811,  and,  after  pureuing  his  theological  studies  in  Paris,  entered 
the  Congregation  of  the  Priests  of  the  Mission,  founded  by  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul.  Summoned  to  aid  the  members  of  his  order  in 
the  United  States,  he  was  appointed,  in  1841,  master  of  novices  at 
Cape  Girardeau,  and  the  next  year  assumed  a  professor's  chair  in 
the  theological  seminary  of  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  of  which  for 
the  next  two  years  he  was  superior,  displaying  not  only  learning 
as  a  professor  and  gifts  as  a  spiritual  guide,  but  ability  in  the  di* 
rection  of  an  institution.  Accustomed  to  the  country  and  its 
needs,  he  then  for  several  years  was  president  of  the  preparatory 
seminary  or  college  of  St.  Mary's  at  the  Barrens,  acting  also  as 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  and,  with  his  associates  in  the  col- 
lege, attending  several  dependent  mission^  and  stations.  In  1 848 
he  was  appointed  superior  of  the  theological  seminary  of  St. 
Charles  Borromeo  at  Philadelphia,  and  for  four  years  directed  that 
important  institution. 

California,  before  its  acquisitibn  by  the  United  States,  had 
formed  part  of  a  diocese,  with  a  bishop  resident  at  Monterey,  and 
under  Bishop  Akmany  that  city  had  been  made  an  episcopal 
see.  The  influx  of  population  soon  required  a  division  of  the 
diocese,  and  Dr.  Alemany  was  appointed  to  the  see  of  San  Fran- 
Cisco,  with  the  dignity  of  archbishop.  To  the  see  of  Monterey, 
left  vacant  by  his  promotion,  the  learned  and  pious  Lazarist  was 
appointed  on  the  29th  of  July,  1853.  He  was  solemnly  consecrated 
on  the  12th  of  March  in  the  following  year  by  his  Eminence  Car- 
dinal Fransoni  in  the  church  of  the  College  of  the  Propaganda  at 
Rome. 


809 


TBI  OATIIOLIO  niRRAROHT  IN  TUB  UNITBD  STATBB. 


Hit  predeoeiio^  had  accomplished  much,  and  Bishop  Amat 
found  in  the  part  of  California  assigned  to  him  enteen  priests 
and  twenty-three  churches.  His  seal  was  directed,  therefore, 
mainly  to  completing  the  work  of  placing  the  Holy  Bacrifice  and 
the  sacraments  within  the  reach  of  al i  the  faithful  in  his  diocese, 
and  also  to  endowing  his  bishopric  with  religious  institutions  and 
schools. 

In  1 866  he  obtained  Bisters  of  Charity  from  Emmittsburg,  who 
opened  an  asylum  and  school  at  Los  Angeles.  /  Few  years  later 
they  had  a  flourishing  academy  and  an  hospital  it  luer  their 
care. 

Bishop  Amat  then  visited  Europe  for  the  gouii  of  the  diocese, 
and  returned  with  piiests  and  Sisterp  ^vi  this  time  the  see  was 
transferred  to  Los  Angeles,  whic>i  became  his  losidence.  There 
the  Lazarists  soon  opened  St.  Vincent's  College ;  and  while  they 
were  securing  Catholics  a  higher  education  fur  their  sons.  Brothers 
of  the  Third  Order  of  St  Francis  and  Sinters  of  the  Immaculate 
Heart  of  Mary  assumed  the  direction  of  parochial  schools  at  many 
points.  A  spinal  affection  under  which  Bishop  Amat  had  long 
suffered  intense  pain,  while  it  never  disturbed  his  serenity,  made 
assistuace  necessary,  and  m  1878  his  vicar-general,  the  Very  Rev. 
Francis  Mora,  was  consecrated  as  his  coadjutor. 

Meanwhile  Bishop  Amat  labored  to  complete  his  cathedral, 
which  he  dedicated  to  God,  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Vibiana, 
April  9,  1876.  His  health  failed  more  rapidly  after  that  time, 
and  he  died  piously  on  the  12th  of  May,  1878,  leaving  in  his  dio- 
cese much  to  attest  his  zeal  and  labors,  not  the  least  having  been 
his  efforts  to  benefit  spiritually  and  temporally  the  remnant  of 
the  Mission  Indians. 


DIOOIBK  OF  MONTBRIT  AMD  LOB  AMOBLM. 


808 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  MORA, 
l%ird  Bishop  of  Mont&rty  and  Zot  AngsUs, 

Fbaitoib  Mora  waa  born  near  the  city  of  Vicb,  in  Catalonia, 
a  province  of  Spain,  on  the  26th  of  November,  1827,  and  was  thua 
by  birth  a  countryman  of  many  of  the  most  energetic  among  the 
early  missionaries  in  California,  Texas,  and  Florida.  It  was 
therefore  natural  that  a  taste  for  foreign  missions  should  early 
have  been  awakened  in  his  heart.  Devoting  himself  in  early 
youth  to  the  service  of  God  in  the  sanctuary,  Francis  Mora  made 
his  ecclesiastical  studies  in  the  episcopal  seminary  at  Vich ;  but 
in  1864,  when  Bishop  Amat  appealed  for  recruits  for  his  diocese, 
the  young  seminarian  offered  his  services,  and,  without  waiting  to 
receive  priestly  orders,  accompanied  him  across  the  Atlantic.  He 
was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Amat  at  Santa  Barbara,  California, 
and  was  successively  rector  at  St.  Juan  Bautista,  Pajaro  vale,  and 
San  Luis  Obispo.  His  zeal  and  ability  repdered  him  one  of  the 
chief  auxiliaries  of  the  Hight  Rev.  Bishop  Amat,  who  in  1868 
appointed  him  rector  oi  the  pro-cathedral  of  Los  Angeles  and 
vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  When  Bishop  Amat  required  the 
services  of  a  coadjutor,  the  Rev.  Francis  Mora  was  elected  to  the 
see  of  Mossynopolis  on  the  20th  of  May,  1878,  and  was  conse* 
crated  on  the  8d  of  August.  Being  thus  coadjutor,  with  the  right 
of  succession,  he  labored  for  the  well-being  of  the  diocese,  of 
which  he  became  bishop  May  12, 1878.  The  diocese  then  con- 
tained a  Catholic  population  of  21,000,  three  thousand  being  the 
surviving  descendants  of  the  Indian  converts  of  the  early  mission- 
aries. There  were  thirty  churches,  with  two  others  in  course  of 
erection,  and  three  erected  in  Catholic  times,  now  little  more  than 
ruins.    His  clergy,  secular  and  regular,  numbered  thirty-eight. 

Bishop  Mora  has  done  much  to  infuse  new  energy;  into  the 
Catholic  body  in  Lower  California  and  make  the  church  confid- 
ed  to  him  prosper.  In  1884  the  children  of  the  true  faith  of 
Christ  numbered  28,000 ;  the  Indians,  whose  wrongs  had  to  some 


804 


THE  CATHOLIC  BISRABCHT  IN  THE  UKITfiD  STATSa 


extent  been  remedied,  had  incroased ;  tbe  Lazarist  OoUege  of  St. 
Vincent  at  Los  Angeles,  and  that  of  Our  Lady  of  Sorrows  at 
Mission  Santa  Barbara,  where  the  Franciscans,  deriving  hope  even 
in  the  affliction  and  ruin  of  their  missions,  were  renewing  their 
labors,  gave  promise  of  great  good.  Daughters  of  Charity,  Sisters 
of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  vied  with  each  other  in  works 
of  mercy.  Thirty-three  secular  priests  and  twelve  regulars  at- 
tended the  thirty-four  churches,  sixteen  chapels,  and  thirty-six 
stations  in  the  portion  of  California  under  his  jurisdiction. 

In  1884  the  diocese  of  Monterey  was  the  scene  of  a  most  con- 
soling celebration.  The  Rev.  Angel  Casanova,  priest  at  Monte- 
rey, had  long  desired  to  restore  the  ancient  church  of  San  Carlos, 
which  contained  the  remains  of  Father  Juniper  Serra,  O.S.F.,  the 
founder  of  the  great  Franciscan  missions  in  Upper  California.  By 
a  course  of  careful  investigation  in  the  ruined  church  he  discov- 
ered the  vault  containing  the  remains  of  the  illustrious  friar,  and 
at  once  began  the  restoration  of  the  mission  church.  The  remains 
of  the  venerable  founder  were  properly  and  piously  encased,  and 
on  the  28th  of  August,  1884,  the  church  of  San  Carlos  was  re- 
dedicated  to  the  service  of  God  with  all  possible  pomp.  On  this 
interesting  occasion,  the  centeunial  of  the  venerable  Father's  death, 
the  Most  Rev.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany,  O.P.,  Archbishop  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, offered  up  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  the  repose  of 
the  humble  and  self-denying  friar  to  whom  California  owed  so 
deep  a  debt.  The  diocese,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1884,  contained 
fifty  churches  and  chapels,  with  forty-five  priests. 

This  diocese  continued  to  prosper  under  the  faithful  pastoral 
care  of  Bishop  Mora  until,  in  1891,  there  were  under  his  jurisdic- 
tion 62  priests  and  13  seminarians,  43  churches  and  56  chapels 
and  stations,  2  colleges,  15  parochial  schools  with  1,346  pupils, 
in  a  Catholic  population  of  40,000. 


c>v> 


,T??"' 


DIOCESE  OF  NASHVILLE. 


RIGHT  KEV.  RICHARD  PIUS  MILES> 

Mrst  Bishop  of  NaahviUe. 

RicHABD  Pius  Miles  was  bom  in  Prince  Oeorge^s  County, 
Maryland,  May  17,  1791 ;  but  as  the  family  emigrated  to  Ken- 
tucky when  he  was  only  five  years  old,  he  grew  up  in  the  West. 
The  hereditary  faith  of  the  family  was  seen  in  the  piety  of  the 
boy,  who  at  the  age  of  fifteen  solicited  admission  into  the  order 
of  St.  Dominic.  He  received  the  white  habit  October  10,  1806, 
and,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  persevered  in  the  state  to  which 
he  felt  that  God  had  called  him.  After  years  of  discipline  and 
study  he  was  ordained  priest  in  September,  1816,  and  entered  on 
a  long  career  of  missionary  labor  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  espe* 
cially  at  Somerset  and  Zanesville,  being  one  of  the  most  active 
and  prominent  priests  in  establishing  Catholicity  in  those  States. 

To  give  teachers  for  the  children  of  the  faithful,  and  devoted 
women  for  works  of  mercy.  Father  Miles,  with  the  consent  of  his 
superiors,  founded  a  community  of  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of 
St.  Dominic,  drawing  up  rules  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  country. 
This  community  now  occupies  the  convent  of  St.  Catharine  of 
Sienna,  near  Springfield,  Ky. 

The  Fathers  of  the  Third  Council  of  Baltimore  recommended 
the  erection  of  Tennessee  into  a  separate  diocese,  and  proposed 
Father  Miles  for  the  first  Bishop  of  Nashville.  He  was  con- 
secrated in  the  cathedral  of  Bardstown,  September  16,  1838,  by 
Bishop  Rosati,  of  St.  Louis,  and  proceeded  alone  to  Tennessee — 
a  State  in  which  there  was  not  then  a  priest,  and  only  two  shells, 
that  could  not  by  any  stretch  of  fancy  be  called  churches.  The 
pioneer  bishop  entered  Nashville  a  stranger,  without  resources, 
and  sought  an  humble  lodging  as  a  shelter  till  he  could  prepare 

800 


806 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIERAACET  IN  THE  UNITBD  STATIS. 


for  Ms  work.  At  the  very  outset  he  was  prostrated  by  illness, 
and  might  have  died  Unattended  had  not  Providence  guided  a 
priest  to  his  bedside.  On  recovering  Bishop  Miles  proceeded  to 
Memphis,  where  he  began  his  labors  as  a  missionary.  He  ap- 
pealed to  Ohib  to  aid  him,  and  obtained  some  auidliaries,  but 
there  were  not  many  priests  who  chose  to  enter  so  unpromising  a 
district. 

In  his  diocesan  city  the  Dominican  bishop  collected  the 
Catholics  soon  after  his  arrival,  and  preached  a  mission ;  but  his 
words  drew  only  nine  persons  to  receive  the  Blessed  Eucharist. 
Yet  by  his  assiduous  labors  he  beheld  the  flock  increase,  till  he 
was  able  in  1847  to  dedicate  his  cathedral  to  the  Almighty  under 
the  invocation  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Seven  Dolors.  He  also  erected 
a  suitable  house  for  himself  and  his  successors,  as  well  as  an 
academy  and  hospital  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
of  Nazareth.  He  introduced  a  colony  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Domi- 
nic, whom  he  had  founded,  into  Memphis,  where  a  church  had 
been  built.  These  good  religious  soon  had  school  and  asylum 
under  their  charge. 

In  1842  Bishop  Miles  ordained  the  first  priest  ever  elevated 
to  that  dignity  in  the  State  of  Tennessee. 

Bishop  Miles  was  not  young  when  called  to  assume  the  duties 
ot  the  episcopate,  and  his  cares  added  more  years  than  his  pre- 
vious missionary  labors.  In  1859  he  solicited  a  coadjutor,  and 
the  Eight  Rev.  James  Whelan,  a  friar  of  his  own  order,  was  ap- 
pointed. A  cough  which  had  long  annoyed  Bishop  Miles  now 
showed  that  the  disease  had  reached  a  critical  point.  After  re- 
citing his  office  on  February  17,  1860,  seated  before  the  fire, 
Bishop  Miles  found  himself  unable  to  rise.  He  was  conveyed  to 
his  bed  and  medical  aid  summoned.  Mis  case  was  at  once  pro- 
nounced fatal,  and,  after  receiving  the  last  sacraments  from  the 
hands  of  Bishop  Whelan,  he  calmly  expired  on  the  21st  of  Feb- 
ruary.   . 

Considering  the  condition  of  Catholicity  in  the  State  of  Ten- 
nessee, where  the  faithful  are  few,  poor,  and  scattered,  often  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  by  mountain  ranges,  the  work  accomplish- 
ed by  Bishop  Miles  in  organizing  and  building  up  the  diocese 
was  certainly  remarkable. 


THE  DIOeBSB  OF  NASHYILLl. 


807 


St  ever  elevated 


BIGHT  REV.  JAMES  WHELAN,  O.S.D., 

Second  Bishop  cf  NaahmUe. 

Jaioss  Whelan  was  bom  at  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  on  the  8tli  of 
June,  1828,  but  spent  most  of  his  youth  in  London  and  New 
York,  where  he  received  his  rearly  training  in  religion  and  letters. 
Even  in  boyhood  he  was  remarkable  for  a  great  love  of  solitude 
and  for  an  extraordinary  application  to  books.  He  seemed  set 
apart  for  the  religious  life,  and,  applying  to  the  venerable  Father 
N.  D.  Young,  was  taken  by  that  eicperienced  director  to  the 
novitiate  of  the  Dominicans,  St.  Joseph^s,  Perry  County,  Ohio. 
Here  he  manifested  great  talent  for  sacred  studies,  and  won  the 
affection  of  all  his  superiors  and  brethren  by  his  genial  disposi* 
tion  and  strict  observance  of  the  rule.  He  was  ordained  priest 
on  the  2d  of  August,  1846,  and  was  soon  an  active  and  labori- 
ous missionary,  filling  many  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility  in 
Dominican  convents,  until  at  last,  in  October,  1854,  he  was  elect- 
ed  provincial  of  the  order  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  He  served 
the  usual  teim,  four  years,  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  satis- 
faction to  his  brethren.  Having  been  soon  after  appointed  co- 
adjutor to  the  Bishop  of  Nashville,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Marcopolis  on  the  8th  of  May,  1859.  The  declining  health  of 
Bishop  Miles  compelled  him  to  assume  at  once  all  the  active 
duties  of  the  episcopate,  and  on  the  death  of  that  prelate  in  the 
ensuing  year  he  became  Bishop  of  Nashville.  The  country  was 
already  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  which  culminated  the  next 
year  in  fratricidal  strife.  As  a  border  State  Tennessee  was  torn 
and  distracted  for  four  long  years  by  the  almost  constant  occupa- 
tion of  contending  armies,  some  of  the  severest  battles  of  the  war 
havijig  been  fought  on  its  soil.  The  afflictions  of  the  diocese 
confided  to  his  care,  with  his  own  utter  inability  to  remedy  them, 
broke  the  spirit  of  the  bishop,  and  in  1864  he  obtained  leave  to 
resign  the  episcopate  and  return  to  the  quiet  and  seclusion  of  a 
convent  of  his  order.  From  that  time  till  his  death  he  lived 
among  his  religious  brethren,  devoting  his  whole  time  to  theolo- 
gical, historical,  and  chemical  studies,  some  of  the  fruits  of  which 


808 


TBS  OATHOLIO  HIBRAROHT  IN  TBB  UNITED  STATES. 


are  maDifest^d  in  contributions  to*  the  periodical  literature  of  the 
time.  In  1872  he  published  a  work  of  enduring  value :  ''Catena 
Aurea;  or,  A  Golden  Chain  of  Evidences  demonstrating  from 
*  Analytical  Treatment  of  History '  that  Papa?  Infallibility  is  no 
Novelty."  In  a  ].x)pular  form  easily  grasped  this  work  presented 
the  question  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  teaching  ew  ccUMra^ 
so  that  all  could  understand  it  and  see  the  fallacy  of  those  whr 
denied  it.  Dr.  Brownson  regarded  it  as  one^  of  the  best  works 
ever  written  on  the  subject 

In  1871  Bishop  Whelan  took  up  his  residence  in  Zanesville, 
and,  after  a  brief  illness,  expired  at  the  residence  of  the  Domini- 
can Fathers  in  that  city,  on  the  18th  of  February,  1878.  His  re- 
mains were  conveyed  to  St.  Joseph's  and  laid  beside  those  of 
his  religious  brethren  who  had  ended  their  career  on  the  mis- 
sions of  Ohio. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  RADEMACHER, 

JFourth  BUhop  of  Naah/oiUe, 

Joseph  Radbmachi:b  was  bom  at  Westphalia,  in  the  State  of 
Michigan,  on  the  3d  of  December,  1840.  He  was  placed  at  an 
early  age  at  St.  Vincent's  College,  under  the  care  of  the  Benedic- 
tine Fathers  of  the  abbey  of  that  name  in  Westmoreland  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  after  completing  his  classical  course  entered 
the  diocesan  seminary  of  St.  Michaers,  at  Pittsburgh,  to  prepare 
for  the  holy  order  of  priesthood,  to  which  he  felt  he  was  called. 
He  was  ordained  priest  on  the  2d  of  August,  1 863,  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Luers,  for  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne.  He  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  church  of  Attica,  Indiana,  and  of  the  de- 
pendent missions,  and  was  a  laborious  missionary  there  for  six 
years.  He  was  then  pastor  of  the  church  of  St.  Paul  of  the 
Cross,  Columbia  City,  for  eight  years.  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Dwenger  then  summoned  him  to  Fort  Wayne,  and  confided  to 
him  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  Mother  of  God.  It  was  a  position 
o|  difficulty,  but  his  piety,  prudence,  and  firmpess  triumphed 


TBB  mOOXSB  07  VA8H  TILLS. 


809 


over  all  obstadei.  During  his  residence  at  Fort  Wayne  he 
acted  as  chancellor  of  the  diocese,  but  he  was  soon  appointed 
pastor  of  St.  MaryV  Church,  Lafayette,  which,  next  to  the  ca> 
thedral,  had  the  largest  congregation  in  the  diocese.  In  all  these 
positions  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rademacher  acquitted  himself  as  a  priest 
of  ability,  devoted  to  his  flock,  earnest,  pious,  careful  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  young.  On  the  21st  of  April,  1888,  he  was  ap* 
pointed  Bishop  of  Nashville,  and  was  consecrated  on  the  24th  of 
June  by  his  predecessor,  who  had  been  promoted  to  the  see  of 
Chicago.  Since  his  enthronement  at  Nashville  Bishop  Bade* 
macher  has  labored  earnestly  by  visitations  to  learn  the  wants  of 
his  diocese  and  advance  the  kingdom  of  God. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1884  the  diocese  contained  thirty 
churches,  .twenty-six  priests,  a  college,  twenty-one  academies  and 
schools  attended  by  more  than  two  thousand  pupils. 

These  had  increased  at  the  close  of  1890  to  86  churches  and 
29  priests,  26  academies  and  parochial  schools  attended  by  2,750 
students,  including  1  colored  school  of  200  pupils.  There  was  a 
Catholic  population  of  21,200. 


John 
Catharine 
which  hij 
the  age  < 
Sulpitian 
the  eccle 
hishop  O 
ordfiS  fr 
Mar^chal 
raunity  o: 
College,  i 
vice-presi 
EcclestoB 
which  he 

Dr.  C 
at  Baltin 
dined  tl 
several  o 
eloquence 
ceremonii 
was  erec 
pointed  1 
sequentl} 
Pope  Gr( 
place  on 
ton  offici 
Chanche 
began  to 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHEZ: 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  CHANCHE, 

Mrst  Bishop  of  Natchez. 

Zossi  Mart  Joseph  Chanche,  the  son  of  John  Ghanche  and 
Catharine  Provost,  was  born  October  4,  1795,  in  Baltimore,  to 
which  his  parents  had  fled  from  the  horrors  of  St.  Domingo.  At 
the  age  of  eleven  he  was  placed  in  the  college  opened  by  the 
Sulpitians  in  that  city,  and  soon  showed  that  he  was  called  to 
the  ecclesiastical  state.  He  received  the  tonsure  from  Arch- 
bishop Carroll  when  he  was  only  fifteen.  After  receiving  minor 
ordPiS  from  Archbishop  Neale  he  was  ordained  by  Archbishop 
Mar^chal,  June  5,  1819.  Having  been  received  into  the  com- 
munity of  Saint  Sulpice,  he  was  made  a  professor  in  St.  Mary's 
College,  and  continued  to  discharge  his  duties,  becoming  in  time 
vice-president,  and  in  September,  1834,  on  the  elevation  of  Dr. 
Eceleston  to  the  episcopate,  president  of  the  college,  an  office  for 
which  he  possessed  marked  qualifications. 

Dr.  Ghanche  had  been  proposed  for  the  position  of  coadjutor 
at  Baltimore,  at  Boston,  and  at  New  York,  but  steadfastly  de- 
clined the  dignity  of  bishop.  He  took  an  important  part  in 
several  of  the  Provincial  Councils  of  Baltimore,  his  learning, 
eloquence,  and  thorough  knowledge  of  all  prescribed  forms  and 
ceremonies  being  recognized  by  all.  When  the  see  of  Natchez 
was  erected,  July  28,  1837,  the  Rev..  Thomas  Heyden  was  ap- 
pointed bishop,  but  declined.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Chanche  was  sub- 
sequently named,  and  was  induced  to  accept  the  bulls  issued  by 
Pope  Gregory  XVI.,  December  15,  1840.  His  consecration  took 
place  on  the  14th  of  March  in  the  next  year.  Archbishop  Eceles- 
ton officiating,  assisted  by  Bishops  Fenwick  and  Hughes.  Dr. 
Chanche  proceeded  to  his  diocese  alone,  and,  landing  at  Natchez, 
began  to  organize  a  diocese  in  the  State  of  Mississippi.     Catho- 

Ml 


819 


THE  OATOOLIO  HIB&ABOHT  IN  THB  UNITED  8TATB& 


lioity  was  in  no  flourishing  condition,  yet  some  of  tlie  early 
French  settlements  and  missions  had  be^n  planted  on  its  soil 
and  in  their  tragic  annals  were  recorded  the  deaths  of  heroic  men 
who  laid  down  their  lives  while  announcing  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  white  settler  and  the  dark-hued  son  of  the  forest. 
Biloxi,  Natchez,  Yazoo  had  been  French  posts  early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  secular  priests  8t.  Gosme  and  Foucault,  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  Du  Poisson,  Souart,  and  Senat,  had  died  by  In- 
dian hands  in  Mississippi  or  on  the  adjacent  river.  Even  in 
earlier  days  eminent  Dominican  Fatheiti  had  labored  here  in  the 
colony  of  Tristan  de  Luna. 

During  the  French  occupancy  of  Louisiana  there  was  a 
church  at  Natchez  attended  by  a  Capuchin  Father,  and  when 
Spain  acquired  the  territor}  a  priest  was  maintained  there. 
Bishop  Carroll,  unable  to  send  a  priest  to  a  point  so  remote 
from  other  settled  parts  of  his  diocebe,  asked  Bishop  Pefialver, 
of  Louisiana,  to  continue  to  supply  the  isolated  church.  Subse- 
quently priests  were  sent  from  Spain,  who  remained  till  17^8, 
when  the  United  Statv^s  took  possession  of  Natchez  and  confis- 
cated the  church  property  to  its  own  use.  From  that  time  the 
mission  was  served  at  intervals  only,  and  the  church  was  at  last 
destroyed  by  fire  in  December,  1882.  A  little  chapel  of  the 
Holy  Family  soon  rose,  however,  and  when  Bishop  Chanche  ar- 
rived was  the  only  sign  of  Catholicity ;  but  it  was  so  small  that 
the  faithful  met  in  a  hired  hall.  Rev.  Mr.  Brogard,  the  only 
priest  in  Mississippi,  was  there  but  temporarily,  and  the  bishop 
was  virtually  alone.  He  obtained  aid,  and,  assembling  the  Ca- 
tholics, roused  their  zeal  and  spirit.  In  1842  he  laid  the  corner- 
stone of  his  cathedral,  and  about  the  same  time  opened  an  aca- 
demy for  young  ladies,  under  the  direction  of  accomplished 
teachers  whom  he  brought  from  Frederick,  Md.  His  visitations 
were  rather  missions  to  find,  collect,  and  organize  the  Catholics 
than  visits  to  parishes,  and  his  labors,  like  those  of  the  few 
priests  whom  he  could  induce  to  share  his  ministry,  were  those 
of  a  missionary  priest.  For  the  good  oi^*  his  diocese  he  visited 
Havana  to  secure  documents  to  substantiate  the  claim  of  the 
Catholic  Church  to  its  property ;  but  his  appeal  to  the  United 
States  for  }ta  ^'es^itution  was  unfivailin^. 


DIOOKSB  OF  NATOasZ. 


615 


The  Sisters  of  Charity  came  to  his  diocese  early  in  1848, 
and  soon  had  thriving  schoo^  i;nd  an  orphan  asylum.  Bishop 
Ohanche  was  earnestly  desirous  of  uniting  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
in  America  with  the  order  in  France,  and  went  to  France  with 
the  documents  which  led  to  the  accomplishment  of  that  design. 
By  the  year  1852  the  diocese,  so  utterly  destitute  when  he  ar- 
rived, began  to  show  the  results  of  his  zeal.  He  had  a  nucleus 
of  a  clergy  in  the  eleven  priests  whom  he  had  gathered  around 
him.  Eleven  churches  had  been  built,  and  there  were  more  than 
thirty  places  where  Catholics  gathered  at  stated  times  to  hear 
Mass  and  approach  the  sacraments. 

At  the  First  Plenary  Council,  in  1852,  Bishop  Chanche  was 
chief  promoter,  and  after  the  close  of  its  sessions  he  went  to 
Frederick  to  rest  awhile  at  the  house  of  a  friend.  There  he 
was  seized  with  cholera-morbus,  which  balHed  the  skill  of  phy- 
sicians. He  lingered  several  days  without  a  murmur,  bearing  all 
his  sufferings  with  resignation  and  serenity  till  he  died,  on  the 
2  id  of  July,  1858.  At  his  own  request  his  body  was  conveyed 
to  Baltimore  and  interred  in  the  cathedral  cemetery.  An  able 
and  accomplished  man,  he  had  renounced  the  episcopate  in  sees 
where  the  Church  was  organized  and  progressing,  in  order  to 
devote  his  energies  and  life  to  the  hardest  struggles  in  a  State 
where  the  prospects  of  Catholicity  were  feeble  indeed. 


MOST  BEV.  FBANCIS  JANSSENS 

Was  JBou/rth  Bishop  of  Natchez^  and  is  now  Fifth  Archlishop 

of  New  Orleans, 

Francis  Janssens  was  born  in  Tilburg,  North  Brabant,  Hol- 
land, on  the  17th  of  October,  1843.  After  preliminary  classical 
studies  he  entered  the  episcopal  seminary  of  Bois-le-Duc,  or  'S  Her- 
togenbosch,  but,  wishing  to  devote  himself  to  the  missions  in 
the  United  States,  sought  entrance  into  the  American  College  at 
Louvain,  and  was  ordained  priest  at  Crhent  on  the  21st  of  Decem- 
ber^ 1867.    Bishop  McGill,  of  Kichmond,  had  visited  the  infft)- 


814 


THB  OATHOUO  HIBRAB0H7  IN  TBlfi  UNITID  8TATIB. 


tution  the  preceding  year  and  depicted  the  wants  of  his  diocese 
■o  eloquently  that  the  young  seminarian,  full  of  courage,  offered 
his  servicea  He  began  his  labors  in  the  diocese  of  Richmond 
in  September,  1868,  and  was  soon  recognized  as  a  most  able  and 
energetic  priest,  full  of  resources  and  prompt  at  every  call.  As 
assistant  priest  at  the  cathedral,  and  from  1870  as  rector,  at- 
tending also  Danville,  Warrenton,  Gordonsville,  and  Culpepper, 
acting  too  as  secretary  and  chancellor  of  the  diocese,  he  en* 
deared  himself  to  all.  In  1874  he  was  made  vica^general  of 
the  diocese,  and  on  the  translation  of  Bishop  Gibbons  to  the 
see  of  Adramyttum,  as  coadjutor  of  Baltimore,  the  Very  Bev. 
Mr.  Janssens  became  administrator  of  the  diocese  of  Richmond. 
When  Bishop  Keane  was  installed  in  the  capital  of  Virginia  he 
retained  the  able  priest  as  vicnr-general  of  his  diocese  and  pas- 
tor of  the  cathedral.  Bishop  Chanche  had  been  succeeded  at 
Natchez  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Van  de  Velde,  who  was  trans- 
ferred from  Chicago,  and, ,  the  diocese  had  been  afterwards  ably 
directed  by  Right  Rev.  William  H.  £lder  for  many  years ;  but 
his  appointment  as  coadjutor  to  the  venerable  Archbishop  Pur- 
cell,  of  Cincinnati,  Ibft  the  see  of  Natchez  vacant.  The  Very 
Rev.  Francis  Janssens  was  selected  for  the  position,  and  he  was 
consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter  at  Richmond  on  the 
1st  of  May,  1881,  by  Archbishop  Gibbons,  assisted  by  Bishops 
Becker,  of  Wilmington,  and  Keane,  of  Richmond,  Bishop  Elder 
preaching  the  sermon  on  the  occasion.  The  ceremony  was  the 
grandest  ecclesiastical  function  ever  seen  in  Richmond,  and  at- 
tracted the  largest  gathering  known  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
in  the  State.  After  the  consecration  Bishop  Janssens  made  a 
most  touching  address  to  the  members  of  the  hierarchy  and  to 
his  fellow-clergymen,  whom  lie  thanked  for  all  their  kindness 
and  brotherly  feeling  towards  him  from  the  day  of  their  first 
cordial  welcome.  Reaching  Natchez  May  7,  he  visited  his  whole 
diocese,  and  then  proceeded  to  his  native  place,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived with  a  public  ovation,  and  with  rapture  by  the  loving  mo- 
ther whom  he  had  left  for  Gods  service;  he  went  to  Rome,  and 
then,  returning  to  this  country,  took  possession  of  his  diocese. 

The  ability  shown  at  Richmond  augurs  a  devoted  and  profit^ 
able  administration  at  Natchez.     Catholicity  has  not  made  in 


DI0018B  OF  KATUHIBZ. 


^17 


HiwiMippi  tlie  ■trides  that  it  has  at  th<;  t  rt]iw6«i  bat  under 
the  care  and  prudence  of  his  predecessom  the  lit^  i«  grain  of 
mustard'Seed  found  by  Bishop  Ghanche  has  grown.  The  Catho- 
lic population  was  in  1884  estimated  at  not  quite  14,000,  the 
yearly  baptisms  of  infants  being  786 ;  the  parochial  and  colored 
schools,  chiefly  under  the  care  of  religions  communities,  number 
nearly  2,000  pupils ;  and  this  body  of  Catholics  has  58  churches, 
attended  by  80  priests. 

In  1884  he  erected  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Rosary  for  the 
Choctaw  Indians,  among  whom  the  Jesuits  labored  in  the  last  cen- 
tury. The  mission  has  succeeded  beyond  expectation,  and  Sisters 
of  Mercy  have  established  a  school  in  the  tribe. 

In  1888  Bishop  Janssens  was  promoted  to  the  see  of  New 
Orleans  as  successor  to  the  late  Archbishop  Leray. 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHITOCHES. 


RIGHT  REV.  AUGUSTUS  MARY  MARTIN, 

Mret  Bishop  of  Natohitoohes, 

AuouBTus  Mabt  Mabtin  was  born  in  Brittany,  France,  and 
after  a  pious  education  was  ordained  priest.  Though  gentle 
and  unassuming,  he  resolved  to  seek  a  foreign  mission,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  184  i.  Having  been  received  into  the 
diocese  of  New  Orleans,  he  was  appointed  chaplain  to  the  Ursu- 
line  nuns.  As  soon  as  hc)  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  mis- 
sion work  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Martin's  Church,  Attaka- 
pas ;  in  1845  he  was  transferred  to  St.  James'  parish,  and  two 
years  later  was  entrusted  with  the  charge  of  St.  Joseph's  Church, 
East  Baton  Rouge,  attending  also  the  dependent  missions  of  the 
Plains  and  Manchac.  In  all  this  parochial  work  he  made  him- 
self singularly  beloved  by  the  people,  and  won  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  his  fellow-priests.  His  archbishop  showed  his  confi- 
dence by  making  him  vicar-forane.  The  Plenary  Council  of 
1852  recommended  the  division  of  the  diocese  of  New  Orleans, 
and  a  new  see  was  erected  at  Natchitoches.  To  this  the  Kev. 
Mr.  Martin  was  elected  on  the  29th  of  July,  185H,  and  he  re- 
ceived episcopal  consecration  at  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Blanc 
in  New  Orleans  on  the  last  day  of  November.  His  diocese  com- 
prised the  more  sparsely  settled  part  of  the  State,  lying  north  of 
the  thirty-fii'st  degree.  Natchitoches  had  been  established  as  a 
French  post  as  early  as  1717,  and  a  priest  was  stationed  there 
from  time  to  time ;  not  far  off  was  the  Spanish  mission  of  San 
Miguel  at  Adayes,  founded  in  1715  by  the  Venerable  Father 
Anthony  Margil  de  Jesus.  In  our  time  a  church  dedicated  to 
St.  Francis  was  erected  at  Natchitoches  in  1826.  The  diocese  of 
Natchitoches  when  organized  contained  about  twenty-five  thou- 

8W 


The 

mitre  of 

diocese  i 

France, 

member 

ing  as  a 

logical 

spondee 

ana.     I 

theolog 

acquire 

ordaint 

Chillic 

assista] 

elevati 

labori( 

consec 

Ovleai 


moCflBS  OF  HATOBITOOHE& 


819 


itnd  Catbolict,  with  only  seven  churches  and  four  priests.  The 
only  institution  was  a  convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart. 

As  the  population  gained  little  by  emigration,  the  great  ob* 
ject  of  Bishop  Martin  was  to  give  his  people  churches,  priests, 
and  schools  to  meet  their  wants.  He  encouraged  and  stimulated 
the  erection  of  churches  wherever  they  could  be  maintained,  and 
Bucceeded  so  that  he  left  more  than  sixty  churches  and  chapels. 
For  works  of  education  and  charity  he  introduced  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  and  the  Daughters  of  the  Cross,  an  order  founded  by  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul. 

After  governing  the  diocese  for  twenty-two  years  h?  ied 
piously  September  29,  1875.-  -"' 


RIGHT  REV.  ANTHONY  DURIER, 

Third  Bishop  of  NcUohitochea. 

The  Right  Rev.  Anthony  Durier,  who  succeeded  to  the 
mitre  of  Natchitoches  after  Archbishop  Leray  had  governed  the 
diocese  for  nearly  six  years  as  administrator,  was  born  at  Rouen, 
France,  in  the  year  1833,  of  a  family  which  gave  many  of  its 
members  to  the  priesthood  and  religious  orders,  one  of  them  dy- 
ing as  a  missionary  in  China.  Anthony  was  pursuing  his  theo- 
logical studies  at  Lyons  when  with  a  fellow-seminarian  he  re* 
sponded  to  an  appeal  of  Archbishop  Blanc  for  priests  for  Louisi- 
ana.  He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1855,  and  completed  his 
theological  studies  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West,  where  he 
acquired  a  familiarity  with  the  English  language.  After  being 
ordained  by  Archbishop  Purcell  in  1856,  he  was  stationed  at 
Chillicothe,  but  the  next  year  began  his  labors  in  New  Orleans  as 
assistant  priest  at  the  cathedral  of  that  city.  From  1359  to  his 
elevation  to  the  episcopate  he  was  the  zealous,  charitable,  and 
laborious  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation.  He  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Natchitoches  in  St.  Louis'  Cathedral,  New 
Orleans,  by  Archbishop  Leray  on  the  19th  of  March,  1885. 


DIOCESE  OF  NESQUALLY. 


RIGHT  KEV.  AUGUSTINE  MAGLOIRE  BLANCHET, 

Mrst  Bishop  of  Neaqually. 

AuonsTiNB  Magloibe  Alexandeb  Blanohet  was  born  on 
the  22d  of  August,  1797,  at  Baint  Pierre,  Riviere  du  Sud,  in  the 
diocese  of  Quebec,  and  after  a  pious  youth  entered  the  seminary, 
and  was  ordained  priest  on  the  3d  of  June,  1821.  The  young 
priest's  earliest  missioni^ry  labors  found  their  field  in  the  islands 
of  La  Magdelaine  and  Chetican  ;  then  he  was  stationed  at  Magr^, 
in  Cape  Breton,  in  1822.  For  sixteen  years  dating  from  1826 
he  exercised  the  holy  ministry  in  the  diocese  of  Montreal  as 
parish  priest  of  St.  Luc  de  I'Assomption,  $t.  Charles,  Rivike 
Richelieu,  and  St.  Joseph  de  Soulanges.  His  parish  was  the 
scene  of  some  of  the  patriot  risings  in  1837.  He  was  subse- 
quently appointed  by  Bishop  Bourget  one  of  the  canons  of  the 
chapter  of  Montreal.  When  the  Holy  See,  in  1845,  erected  the 
dioceses  of  Walla  Walla  and  Fort  Hall  in  Oregon,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  Walla  Walla,  and  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of 
Montreal  on  the  27th  of  September,  1846.  The  diocese  embraced 
the  territory  between  the  Pacific  and  White  Salmon  River 
above  the  Cascades,  the  British  possessions,  and  the  Columbia 
River.  The  Jesuit  Fathers  had  already  begun  missions  among 
the  Coeurs  d^ Alines,  Flatheads,  and  Kalispels,  and  Protestant 
missionaries  were  engaged  in  attempting  to  gain  converts  in 
other  native  tribes.  Bishop  Blanchet  set  out  from  Montreal  in 
March,  1847,  and  reached  Fort  Walla  Walla  on  the  5th  of  Sep- 
tember, accompanied  by  four  Oblate  Fathers  and  two  secular 
priests.     His  arrival  excited  great  bitterness  at  the  Protestant 

miMions,  and  the  invitation  of  the  Cayuse  chief  Tamatowe  to 

ago 


DIOCESE  OF  NESQUALLT. 


331 


the  bishop  added  to  the  feeling.  Before  the  bishop  and  his 
priests  could  begin  any  active  mission  work  the  C'ayuses  mur- 
dered Dr.  Whitman,  a  Protestant  missionary,  and  his  wife; 
another  missionary,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding,  was  saved  from  a 
similar  fate  only  by  the  exertions  of  one  of  Bishop  Blanchet's 
priests,  Rev.  Mr.  Brouillet.  The  bishop,  thei^  at  Tamatowe's 
camp,  used  every  effort  to  rescue  the  whites  held  as  prisoners 
by  the  Indians  and  to  prevent  further  crime,  but,  finding  himself 
powerless,  retired  to  St.  Paul.  Rev.  Mr.  Brouillet  remained,  but 
was  soon  compelled  to  leave,  and  his  house  was  burned,  as  well 
as  the  chapel.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding,  far  from  showing  any 
gratitude  to  the  men  who  saved  his  life,  began  at  once  to  charge 
the  Catholic  bishop  and  clergy  with  complicity  in  the  massacre 
and  to  inflame  the  public  mind  against  them.  This  course  he 
pursued  for  years,  and  though  the  calumny  has  been  again  and 
again  refuted,  it  is  repeated  to  this  day. 

Bishop  Blanchet  in  June,  1848,  set  out  for  the  Umatilla  mis* 
sion,  but,  being  ordered  back  by  the  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Affairs,  established  the  Dalles  mission  of  St.  Peter. 

The  Cayuse  war  prevented  the  progress  of  settlements,  and, 
the  difficulty  of  restoring  missions  being  great,  a  change  was 
made.  The  Sovereign  Pontiff  on  the  31st  of  May,  1850,  erected 
the  see  of  Nesqually  and  transferred  Bishop  Blanchet  to  it  in  the 
following  October.  He  took  up  his  residence  at  Fort  Vancouver, 
on  the  Columbia,  and  there  he  soon  had  a  modest  cathedral, 
while  chapels  rose  at  Olympia  and  Steilacoom,  on  the  Cowlitz 
River,  and  among  the  Chinooks.  In  1853  the  diocese  of  Walla 
Walla  was  suppressed,  and  part  of  it,  including  the  jt)alle8  and 
Cayuse  territory,  was  annexed  to  Nesqually. 

Bishop  Blanchet  took  part  in  the  Provincial  Council  of 
Oregon  and  in  the  Plenary  Councils  of  Baltimore  in  1852  and 
1866. 

When  the  Territory  of ■  Washington  was  organized  in  1853 
the  diocese  of  Nesqually  was  made  to  include  it.  Religion  was 
at  last  making  sure  but  steady  progress,  when  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  California  diverted  immigrants,  and  even  sent  many  from 
Oregon  to  that  tempting  field.  The  Catholic  population,  of  about 
six  thousand,  lost  severely,  and  even  the  number  of  priests  and 


822 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIimABCHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


chapels  declined.  From  1856  the  diocese  had  Sisters  of  Charity, 
who  established  an  academy  and  hospital  at  Vancouver,  and  in 
time  spread  to  Steilacoom,  Walla  Walla,  St.  Ignatius,  and  Tulalip. 

Through  all  the  trials  and  difficulties  that  checkered  his 
episcopate  from  the  outset  Bishop  Blanchet  labored  on  courage- 
ously, seeking  to  do  all  that  could  be  effected  for  his  fiock.  In 
February,  1879,  he  was  relieved  of  the  buinlen,  which  had  becoine 
too  gi'eat  for  his  years  and  health,  and  became  titular  Bishop  of 
Ibora,  taking  up  his  abode  at  St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  Vancouver. 
The  diocese,  when  he  transferred  it  to  his  successor,  contained  16 
priests,  24  churches  and  chapels,  Indian  missions  at  Fort  Colville, 
Yakima,  and  Tulalip^  colleges  at  Vancouver  and  Walla  Walla, 
with  the  numerous  institutions  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  a 
Catholic  population  which  had  gi'own  to  nearly  twelve  thousand. 

Bishop  Blanchet  died  in  the  hospital  of  the  Sisters  of  Provi- 
dence at  Fort  Vancouver,  February  25,  1887. 


RIGHT  REV.  JEGIDIUS  JUNGER, 

Second  Bishop  of  NeaquaUy. 


^oiDius  JuNOEB  was  bom  on  the  6th  of  April,  1833,  at 
Bu/tscheid,  near  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  the  diocese  of  Jologne,  and, 
aft»^r  preparing  by  a  pious  youth  end  the  study  of  years,  was 
ordained  priest  on  the  26th  of  July,  1862.  Destined, for  the 
American  mission,  he  came  to  this  country  October  31,  1862.  On 
reaching  the  diocese  of  Nesqually  he  was  stationed  at  Walla 
Walla  City,  and  attended  the  church  there  with  its  dependent 
missions ;  but  from  1864  he  was  attached  to  the  cathedral  of  St. 
Augustine  and  St.  James  at  Vancouver.  There  his  ability,  zeal, 
and  piety  made  him  favorably  known.  When  the  aged  Bishop 
Blanchet  was  at  last  permitted  to  resign  the  see  which  1ie  had  so 
long  filled,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jungei*  was  elected  Bishop  of  Nesqually, 
and  was  consecrated  on  the  28th  of  October,  1879. 

Since  he  has  been  at  the  head  of  the  diocese  the  Territory  of 


DIOCESE  OF  NESQUALLT. 


838 


Washington  has  been  brought  into  closer  communication  with 
the  East  by  railroad.  Ooal-mines  have  been  opened  and  new 
towns  are  arising.  Some  of  the  incoming  population  is  Catholic, 
and  the  number  of  the  faithful  is  on  the  increase.  There  were  in 
1884  twenty-seven  priests  attending  thirty  churches  and.  sixty- 
two  stations  and  Indian  missions ;  the  number  o|  institutions  had 
grown,  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary  having 
entered  the  diocese  to  aid  the  Sisters  of  Charity  or  of  Providence 
in  the  labors  which  they  have  so  long  and  so  heroically  sus- 
tained. Bishop  Junger  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  in  November,  1884.  .     . 

The  summary  for  the  year  1891  as  compiled  from  authentic 
sources,  shows  the  following :  89  priests,  46  churches,  99  chapels 
and  stations,  3  collegeji,  14  academies,  5  parochial  schools  with 
625  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  40,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEWARK. 


RIGHT  REV.  WINAND  MICHAEL  WIGGER, 

Third  bishop  of  Newark. 

WiNAWD  M.  WiGGEB,  who  bccaiue  third  Bishop  of  Newark-^ 
Bishop  Bayley,  the  first,  having  been  promoted  to  the  see  of  Bal* 
tilnore,  and  Bishop  Conigan,  his  successor,  having  been  promoted 
to  the  see  of  Petra  as  coadjutor  of  New  York — ^was  born  in  the 
city  of  New  York  on  the  9th  of  December,  1841,  his  parents,  who 
had  emigrated  from  Westphalia,  having  settled  in  that  city.  He 
pursued  a  classical  course  at  St.  Francis  Xavier's  College,  under 
the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and,  resolving  to  serve  God 
in  his  sanctuary,  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Seton  Hall, 
South  Orange,  New  Jersey,  where  he  remained  some  ye^'^ '  but 
in  October,  1862,  enrolled  his  name  among  the  theological  stu- 
dents at  the  college  of  Brignoli  Sale,  Genoa,  where  he  completed 
his  divinity  couree,  winning  the  doctor's  cap.  He  was  ordained 
priest  in  1865,  and,  returning  to  the  diocese  of  Newark,  became 
assistant  priest  at  the  cathedral.  On  the  death  of  Rev.  James 
D'Arcy  he  was  appointed  rector  of  St.  Vincent's  Church,  Madi- 
son, where  he  remained  several  years,  enjo3nng  the  respect  and 
attachment  of  his  flock  and  of  persons  of  all  creeds,  his  only  ab- 
sence being  a  temporary  removal  to  Summit  for  his  health.  Or 
the  promotion  of  Bishop  Corrigan  the  diocese  of  Newark  was  re- 
duced to  the  counties  of  Hudson,  Passaic,  Bergen,  Essex,  Morris, 
Union,  and  Sussex,  the  rest  of  the  State  being  formed  into  the  new 
diocese  of  Trenton.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Wigger,  elected  to  the  see  of 
Newark,  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  at  Newark  on  the  18th 
of  October,  1881,  by  Archbishop  Corrigan,  assisted  by  Bishop 
McQuaid,  of  Rochester,  and  Bishop  Loughlin,  of  Brooklyn.     Un- 


BIOOESK  OF  NBWABK. 


825 


der  his  care  the  diocese,  though  small  in  extent,  has  advanced  in 
the  way  of  prosperity,  containing  at  the  close  of  the  year  1884  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Catholics,  with  eighty-eight  churches 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  priests.  It  had  three  colleges, 
seventeen  seminaries  for  young  ladies,  twenty  thousand  Catholic 
children  in  the  parochial  schools,  and  twelve  asylums  and  hospi- 
tals. 

This  large  and  important  diocese  in  1891  presented  the  follow- 
ing remarkable  showing :  202  priests,  1,027  brothers  and  sisters 
in  convents  and  monasteries,  112  churches  and  12  stations,  1  sem- 
inary, d  colleges  with  880  students,  18  academies  for  young  ladies 
with  1,420  students,  ?9  parochial  schools  and  25,914  pupils  in 
attendance,  6  orphan  asylums  and  4  hospitals,  in  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  170,000. 


•  A 


DIOCESE  OF  OGDENSBURG. 


W:' 


RIGHT  REV.  EDGAR  P.  WADHAM8, 

Mrat  Bishop  of  Ogdenabwrg, 

Edoab  p.  Wadhams,  son  of  Luman  Wadhams  and  Lucy 
Bostwick,  was  born  on  the  2l8t  of  May,  1817,  in  the  township 
of  Lewis,  Essex  County,  N.  Y.,  and  was  graduated  at  Middle- 
bury  College,  Vermont.  Brought  up  a  Protestant,  he  resolve'  to 
prepare  for  the  ministry,  and  went  through  the  course  of  studies 
at  the  Protestant  Episcopal  General  Theological  Seminary,  New 
York.  After  receiving  deacon's  orders  in  that  denomination  he 
became  a  missionary  at  Ticonderoga,  but  there  the  doubts  as  to 
his  religious  position  yielded  to  the  power  of  reason  enlightened 
by  prayer.  Retaining  his  wish  to  serve  in  the  ministry,  he  pro- 
ceeded directly  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore,  where  he  was 
received  into  the  Church  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Fredet  in  June,  1846. 
Entering  on  the  course  of  sound  study,  he  received  the  tonsure 
and  minor  orders  from  Archbishop  Eccleston,  September  2, 
1847 ;  deaconship,  October  24,  1849,  and  was  ordained  priest  in 
St  Mary's  Pro-Cathedral,  Albany,  by  Right  Rev.  John  McClos- 
key  on  the  15th  of  January,  1850.  He  was  immediately  appoint- 
ed assistant  at  the  pro-cathedral,  and  retained  the  same  position 
in  the  cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  on  its  dedication 
in  1858  till  he  became  rector  in  1866.  Acting  also  as  vicar-gene- 
ral of  the  diocese,  his  mission  life  \^as  one  of  labor  and  consolation. 
When  the  diocese  of  Ogdensburg  was  set  off  he  was  appointed 
to  it  on  the  15th  of  February,  1872,  and  was  consecrated  by 
Archbishop  McCloskey,  of  New  York,  'assisted  by  Bishops  de 
Goesbrian4  and  Williams,  in  the  cathedral  at  Albany,  on  the 
feast  of  St.  Pius  V. — ^a  pope  who  took  a  zealous  interest  in  the 
progress  of  the  faith  in  our  territory.     Bishop  Wadhams  was 


DIOOBSB  OF  OODBNSBUBO. 


32» 


installed  in  St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  Ogdensburg,  on  the  16th  of 
May,  1872.  The  modem  city  occupies  the  site  of  the  Mission  of 
the  Presentation,  founded  in  the  last  century  by  a  zealous  Sulpi- 
tian,  the  Abb^  Picquet  The  diocese  has  an  area  of  ten  thousand 
five  hundred  square  miles,  including  the  Adirondack  Mountains 
and  some  of  the  wildest  scenery  in  the  State.  The  population 
is  scattered,  the  sixty-three  thousand  Gatholicc  intermingled 
among  a  total  of  three  hundred  !;housand. 

Limited  as  the  resources  of  Dishop  W^dhams  have  been,  he 
has  been  seconded  in  zeal  by  hard-working  clergy  and  a  flock 
ready  to  make  sacrifices.  In  this  wilderness-diocese  of  17ew  York 
State,  during  his  administration,  thirty-three  churches  have  arisen 
where  there  was  never  a  church  before,  and  churches  already  ex- 
isting when  he  became  Bishop  of  Ogdeusburg  have  been  rebuilt 
or  enlarged. 

Gradually,  under'the  impulse  he  has  given,  provision  is  made 
for  the  education  of  the  rising  generation,  and  there  are  twenty 
schools  with  about  fifteen  hundred  pupils.  The  Oblate  Fathers 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  now  the  great  missionary  body  of 
Canada,  have  a  house  at  Plattsburg,  the  Augustinians  at  Car- 
thage, the  Franciscans  at  Croghan  and  Mohawk  Hill,  and  the 
Missionary  Fathers  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at  Watertown.  The 
d'Youville  Sisters  of  Charity  (Gray  Nuns),  Sisters  of  Charity,  of 
Mercy,  and  of  St.  Joseph,  with  Franciscan  Sisters,  supply  fifty 
teachers  for  schools. 

In  1891  there  were  in  this  diocese,  78  priests  and  8  seminari- 
ans, 98  churches  and  68  chapels  and  stations,  17  parochial  schools 
with  3,250  pupils  in  attendance,  1  hospital  and  1  orphanage 
under  the  charge  of  the  Grey  Nuns,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
65,390,  out  of  a  total  population  of  305,000. 


Lams  was 


James 
Ireland,  in 
nineteen,  i 
Church, 
new  mona 
a  religiouj 
with  zeal 
his  care, 
see  of  Dul 
and  gover 
the  voice 
sume  the 
consecrate 
was  to  be 
but  only  < 
stitution 
order,  obs 
the  task ; 
ministrati 
join  his  v 
he  introd 
academief 
When  he 
as  many  < 
dim  miss 


•.^ 


■H' 


DIOCESE  OF  OMAHA. 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  O'GORMAN, 

Mrat  Vtcar-Apostolio, 

James  Michael  O'Gobman  was  bom  in  the  County  Limerick, 
Ireland,  in  1809,  and  entered  the  Trappist  Order  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  renouncing  the  world,  and  all  preferments  even  in  the 
Church.  He  waf>  one  of  the  first  sent  from  Melleray  to  found  a 
new  monastery  of  Trappists  in  Iowa.  There  he  showed  himself 
a  religious  full  of  the  spirit  of  the  Cistercian  Order,  discharging 
with  zeal  the  ministry  for  the  benefit  of  the  souls  placed  under 
his  care.  When  the  Rev.  Father  Smyth  was  appointed  to  the 
see  of  Dubuque,  Father  O'Gorman  became  prior  of  New  Melleray 
and  governed  the  monastery  with  charity  and  prudence.  In  1859 
the  voice  of  the  Holy  Father  called  him  from  his  cloister  to  as- 
sume the  episcopate  as  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Nebraska.  He  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Raphanea  on  the  8th  of  May.  Everything 
was  to  ba  done  in  the  Territory.  There  were  scattered  Catholics, 
but  only  one  or  two  churches,  three  priests,  and  not  a  single  in- 
stitution  of  any  kind.  ,  A  monk  of  an  austere,  contemplative 
order,  observing  the  strictest  silence,  seemed  scarcely  fitted  for 
the  task ;  but  Bishop  O'Gorman  displayed  all  the  powers  of  ad- 
ministration and  organization.  He  induced  zealous  priests  to 
join  his  vicariate,  and  aided  them  to  build  up  church  and  school ; 
he  introduced  Sisters  of  Mercy  and  Benedictine  nuns,  so  that 
academies,  schools,  hospital,  asyluni  soon  attested  Catholic  life. 
When  he  laid  down  the  burden  there  were  twenty  priests  and 
as  many  churches  under  his  care,  many  stations,  and  several  In* 

dian  missions. 

an 


TBB  OAtHOLlO  HIBBABOHT  IN  THB  VNlTBD  STAttt), 

While  lit  Cinoinnsti  in  the  summer  of  1874  he  was  attacked 
by  cholera  morbus,  and  died  on  the  4th  of  July,  at  the  age  of 
sixty 'five.  His  remains  were  conveyed  to  Nebraska  and  laid  in 
the  cathedral  of  St.  Philomena  in  the  city  of  Omaha. 


EIGHT  EEV.  JAMES  O'CCNNOR, 

First  Bishop  of  Omaha. 

We  have  seen  the  career  of  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  O^Connor,  the 
distinguished  Bishop  of  IMttsburgh,  and  come  now  to  sketch 
briefly  the  career  of  his  able  brother.  James  O'Connor  was  boi'i\ 
in  Queenstown,  Ireland,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1823,  and, 
coming  to  this  country  in  1838,  finished  his  preparatov/  studies 
*  in  the  Seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  Philadelphia,  from 
which  he  was  sent  to  the  Urban  College  at  Rome.  Tjained 
there  to  the  soundest  philosophy  and  theology  by  the  eminent 
professors  of  the  College  of  the  Propaganda,  he  was  ordained  in 
the  Eternal  City  on  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation  in  the  year 
1845.  On  his  return  to  this  country  he  was  for  seven  years  en- 
gaged in  missionary  duties  in  the  diocese  of  Pittsburgh.  Tn  1857 
he  was  appointed  superior  of  St.  Michaers  Theological  and  Pre- 
paratory Seminary  at  Glenwood,  near  Pittsburgh,  and  organized 
the  different  departments,  directing  the  whole  so  ably  that  he 
was  compelled  to  erect  an  additional  wii\g  in  ^  '>62  to  accommo' 
date  the  increased  number  of  students. 

Resigning  his  position  in  the  following  year,  he  was  appoint- 
ed Director  of  the  Seminary  of  SL  Charles  Borromeo  at  Over- 
brook,  near  Philadelphia,  filling  aiso  the  chairs  of  philosophy, 
moral  theology,  and  ecclesiastical  history,  until  the  year  1802, 
when  he  visited  Europe  and  on  his  return  became  pastor  of  iJ't. 
Dominic's  Church,  Holmesburg.  In  1876  he  was  elected  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  Nebraska,  and  was  consecrated  titular  Bishop  of 
Dibona  on  the  20th  of  August.     Ue  founded  Creighton  College 


moOBSB  OP  OMAHA. 


dad 


in  1879,  and  confided  it  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesas, 
and  introduced  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  who  have  two  houses  of 
their  order.  The  vicariate,  when  Bishop  O'Connor  attended  the 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884,  contained  more  than 
seventy-five  priests,  one  hundred  and  fifty  churches,  and  six 
charitable  institutions,  six  academies,  and  seventeen  parochial 
schools. 

In  1885  the  State  of  Nebraska  was  made  the  diocese  of 
Omaha,  and  Bishop  O'Connor  was  transferred  to  the  new  see. 
He  was  engaged  in  establishing  an  order  of  nuns  for  work  among 
the  Indians  when  death  closed  his  useful  career  May  27,  1890. 

The  vacant  see  of  Omaha  in  1891  contained  81  priests,  11 
eccleHiastical  students,  126  churches  and  62  chapels  and  stations, 
1  college  and  4  academies,  88  parochial  schools  with  3,200  pupils, 
8  hospitals  and  1  orphan  asylum,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
60,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  PEORIA. 


MGHT  REV.  JOHN  LANCASTER  SPALDING, 

JFirat  Bishop  of  Peoria, 

John  Lanoastbr  Spalding  was  born  at  Lebanon,  Ky.,  on  the 
2d  of  June,  1840,  "coming,"  as  Bishop  Roseorans  well  said  on  the 
day  of  his  consecration,  "  from  a  family  of  priests  who  have  sup- 
ported the  fabric  of  our  religion  in  this  country,  and  will  main- 
tain its  honor,  not  only  among  Catholics,  but  will  defend  it  also 
among  those  who  are  not  Catholics."  After  brilliant  studies  in 
America  and  Europe  he  was  ordained  by  dispensation  on  the  10th 
of  December,  1868,  and  was  recognized  as  a  priest  of  great  intel- 
lectual ability  and  high  culture,  in  general  literature  as  well  as 
in  the  lore  of  the  theologian. 

Returning  to  his  native  State,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
clergy  of  the  cathedral  at  Louisville,  where  he  remained  till 
1870,  when  he  took  charge  of  St.  Augustine's  Church,  which  had 
been  opened  for  colored  Catholics.  He  also  acted  as  secretary 
and  chancellor  of  the  diocese  till  1878,  when  he  removed  to  New 
York  and  became  one  of  the  priests  laboring  in  the  large  and 
important  parish  of  St.  Michael.  His  eloquence  and  ability  led 
to  frequent  applications  for  his  services  in  the  pulpit  on  impor- 
tant occasions,  while  his  zeal  and  prudence  showed  his  fitness  for 
more  responsible  duties  than  had  hitherto  been  assigned  to  him. 

When  the  diocese  of  Peoria  was  formed  in  Illinois,  in  1877, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Spalding  was  selected  for  the  new  see,  and  was  con- 
secrated on  the  feast  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  James,  the  1st  day  of 
May,  in  the  cathedral  of  New  York,  by  His  Eminence  John  Car- 
dinal McCloskey,  Archbishop  of  New  York,  Bishop  Rosecrans, 
of  Columbus,  preaching  on  the  occasion. 

The  diocese  confided  to  his  care  comprised  the  central  portion 


DIOOKSR  OF  PBORIA. 


88d 


of  the  State  of  Illinois,  between  tbe  dioceses  of  Chicago  and  Alton. 
There  were  already  seventy-flve  churches,  attended  by  fifty-one 
priests,  and  a  Catholic  population  estimated  at  forty-Ave  thou* 
sand.  Fathers  of  the  order  of  Bt.  Francis,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  Sisters  of  St.  Benedict,  St.  Dominic,  and  of  St.  Francis, 
were  in  charge  of  academies  or  charitable  institutions. 

Bishop  Spalding  developed  the  resources  of  his  diocese,  and 
Dew  churches  with  institutions  soon  rose  in  various  parts,  so  that 
by  the  close  of  the  year  1884  there  were  in  the  district  under  his 
episcopal  charge  15U  churches,  109  priests,  8  academies,  41  paro- 
chial schools  with  nearly  7,000  pupils,  5  hospitals,  and  an  orphan 
asylum.  The  Catholic  population  had  increased  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  the  annual  baptisms  being  8,574. 

Bishop  Spalding  has  co-operated  actively  in  the  movement  for 
Catholic  colonization,  and  his  own  diocese,  as  well  as  others  fur- 
ther West,  show  the  benefit  resulting  from  the  effort  to  aid  immi- 
grants in  taking  up  lands  for  their  new  homes  where  they  can 
enjoy  the  consolations  of  their  religion. 

The  project  of  a  great  Catholic  University  in  the  United 
States  is  also  one  for  which  Bishop  Spalding  has  labored  assidu- 
ously, his  project  being  encouraged  by  the  Third  Plenary  Coun- 
cil of  Baltimore,  which  adopted  his  plans  in  1884,  a  noble- 
hearted  young  Catholic  lady,  Misa  Caldwell^  having  given  $800,- 
000  to  begin  the  great  undeHaking. 

The  diocese  of  Peoria  in  1891  contained  115  priests  and  12 
clerical  students,  166  churches,  9  academies  and  49  parochial 
schools  with  7,842  pupils,  5  hospitals,  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  65,000. 


osecrans, 


DIOCESE  OF  PinSBURGH. 


RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  O'CONNOR, 
First  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh  and  First  Bishop  of  Erie. 

Like  many  of  the  able  and  energetic  bishops  of  the  United 
States,  the  Right  Rev.  Michael  O'Connor  was  a  native  of  Ire- 
land. He  was  born  near  Cork  September  27,  1810,  and,  after  re- 
'  ceiving  his  earlier  training  at  Queenstown,  was  sent  to  France  to 
follow  a  course  for  the  piiesthood,  to  which  he  aspired.  From 
his  talents  and  piety  he  yfdHA  selected  iby  the  Bishop  of  Cloyne  as 
a  student  at  the  Urban  College  in  Rome.  The  learning  and 
ability  displayed  in  his  defence  of  his  theses  for  the  doctor's  cap 
attracted  the  attention  of  all.  He  was  ordained  priest  June  1, 
1833,  and  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of  Holy  Scripture  ia  the 
Propaganda,  and  vice-rector  of  the  Irish  College.  After  dis- 
charging the  duties  of  parish  priest  at  Fermoy,  in  the  diocese  of 
Cloyne,  for  some  time,  he  came  to  Philadelphia  in  1839  on  the 
invitation  of  Dr.  Kenrick,  who  desired  to  secure  the  services  of 
the  learned  priest  for  his  seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo.  Of 
that  institution  he  soon  became  president;  but  while  thus  ab- 
sorbed in  scholastic  duties  he  did  not  forego  the  work  of  a  mis- 
sionary priest,  taking  charge  of  stations,  and  building  a  church, 
which  he  dedicated  to  St.  Francis  Xavier.  His  veneration  for 
that  Apostle  of  the  Indies  was  an  indication  of  his  desire  to  en- 
ter the  Society  of  Jesus — a  desire  which  he  never  abandoned. 

In  1841  he  was  appointed  vicar-general  of  the  western  part 

of  the  diocese  of  Philadelphia,  and  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  Church 

in  Pittsburgh.    The  historian  of  that  portion  of  the  State  says 

that  his  arrival  marked  a  new  era.    Schools,  churches,  a  Catholic 

Institute  showed  the  designs  of  the  active  mind.    In  May,  1843, 

be  went  to  Rome  to  solicit  permission  to  enter  the  Society  of  Je- 

m 


DIOOBSB  OF  PITTSBURGH. 


.887 


gQg — a  step  whicli,  as  a  student  of  the  Propaganda,  he  could  not 
take  without  direct  sanction  from  Rome.  But  when  he  obtained 
an  audience  of  the  Holy  Father  he  was  forbidden  to  rise  till  he 
promised  to  accept  the  mitre  as  first  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh.  He 
was  consecrated  in  St.  AgathaV  Ohurch,  in  Rome,  on  the  feast  of 
the  Assumption,  1843,  by  Cardinal  Fransoni. 

He  visited  Ireland,  and,  obtaining  some  candidates  for  the 
priesthood  and  Sisters  of  Mercy,  reached  Pittsburgh  in  Decem- 
ber. The  diocese  comprised  fourteen  counties,  over  which  were 
scattered  some  twenty-five  thousand  Catholics,  attended  by  four* 
teen  priests.  There  were  only  thirty-three  churches  and  one  or- 
phan asylum.  The  only  religious  orders  were  the  Priests  of  the 
'  Most  Holy  Redeemtir  and  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  This  district 
had  in  earlier  times  been  the  ^eld  of  labor  of  the  great  mission- 
ary Prince  Dmitri  A.  Galitzin,  who  endeavored  to  build  up  Ca- 
tholic colonies  near  hio  church  at  Loreto.  Here  in  1847  the 
Franciscan  Brothei^,  invited  by  Bishop  O'Connor,  established  a 
house  of  their  teaching  order.  The  year  before  the  Rev.  Boni- 
face Wimmer  began  a  community  of  the  order  of  St.  Benedict. 
It  has  grown  into  a  congregation,  of  which  he  was  in  1884  arch- 
abbot.  The  Benedictines  have  a  great  Abbey  of  St.  Vincent's 
near  Latrobe,  and  several  abbeys  and  many  priories,  filiations 
of  St.  Vincent's,,  exist  in  the  United  States,  the  missionaries 
laboring  in  college  or  parochial  work,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific.  Bishop  O'Connor  also  obtained  a  colony  of  Passionists 
from  Rome  in  1852,  and  these  austere  religious  have  increased, 
and  by  their  missions  revived  the  faith  in  thoHsands.  Among 
other  aids  the  bishop  also  obtained  some  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 

The  diocese  had  increased  so  much  that  in  1852  the  Plenary 
Council  solicited  its  division,  and  a  new  see  was  erected  at  Erie. 
To  this  Bishop  O'Connor  was  transferred  July  29,  1853;  but  as 
Dr.  Young  \78is  reluctant  to  replace  him  at  Pittsburgh,  Bishop 
O'Connor  returned  to  that  see. 

His  cathedral  had  been  destroyed  by  fire  in  1851,  but  he  had 
at  once  begun  the  erection  of  a  new  and  finer  edifice.  This  was 
dedicated  with  great  solemnity  on  the  24th  of  June,  1855.  But 
the  active  zeal  of  Bishop  O'Connor  was  arrested  by  softening  of 
the  brain,  attended  with  great  pain,  and  he  earnestly  sought  r^ 


S88 


TAB  CATBOUO  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


lief  from  the  respoDsibilities  of  his  bishopric.  In  May,  i860,  Pope 
Pius  IX.  permitted  him  to  resign  his  see,  and  Dr.  O^Connor  at 
once  carried  out  the  project  of  his  early  yep^rn  by  entering  the 
Society  of  Jesus.  At  this  time  the  diocese  of  Pittsburgh  alone 
contained  eigl^ty-six  priests  and  seventy-seven  churches,  with  a 
seminary,  a  collf  ge,  academies,  and  schools,  as  well  as  charitable 
institutions.    The  population  was  estimated  at  fifty  thousand. 

In  the  order  which  he  entered  he  edified  all  by  his  humility 
and  piety.  As  his  health  permitted  he  discharged  the  ministry 
in  the  confessional  and  the  pulpit,  and  especially  in  ^ving  re- 
treats to  religious  communities.  He  died  most  piously  amid  his 
religious  brethren  at  Woodstock,  in  Maryland,  on  the  18th  of 
October,  1872.  The  historian  of  the  Pittsburgh  diocese.  Rev.  A. 
A.  Lambing,  justly  styles  him  "one  of  the  most  brilliant  lights 
that  has  ever  shed  its  lustre  on  the  Church  in  the  United  States." 


mi 


RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  DOMENEO, 

/Second  Bishop  of  Pittahwrgh. 

BfiOHAEL  DoHENUX}  was  bom  at  Rioz,  near  Tarragona,  in 
Spain,  in  1816,  and  at  an  early  age  corresponded  to  a  vocation 
to  the  priesthood.  While  studying  at  the  Spanish  capital  the 
disturbed  state  of  his  native  country  induced  him  to  proceed  to 
France.  Continuing  his  course  there  under  the  Priests  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Mission,  he  joined  that  family  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  18S7  with  the  Very 
Rev.  John  Timon.  Completing  his  studies  at  the  seminary  of  the 
order  at  the  Barrens,  Missouri,  he  was  ordained  June  29, 1839. 
After  acting  as  professor  at  St.  Mary's  College  he  founded  St  Vin- 
cent's Male  Academy  at  Cape  Girardeau  in  1842,  and  was  subse- 
quently employed  on  mission  duties  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 
In  1845  he  was  sent  to  Pennsylvania,  and,  after  some  service 
at  Nicetown,  erected  the  church  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in  Ger- 
niantown,  of  which  h^  was  D/nstor  when  he  was  selected  as  suc- 


The  Rig 

of  Ireland, 
divinity  stu 
Drtuncondr 
burgh.  H< 
the  cathed 
erect  the  cl 
mission  of 


DIOOESE  OF  PITTSBUBatu 


8de 


eessor  to  Bishop  O^Connor.  He  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral 
at  Pittsburgh  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of  Baltimore,  on  the  9th 
of  December,  1860.  The  progress  of  religion  continued  during 
the  administration  of  Bishop  Domenec,  several  new  churches 
having  been  erected.  The  bishop  visited  Rome  in  1862  and 
again  in  1867  to  attend  the  canonizations  in  those  years.  In 
1875  the  diocese  of  Pittsburgh  was  regarded  as  too  large  for  a 
single  bishop,  as  it  contained  115  churches,  160  priests,  and,  as 
was  believed,  200,000  Catholics.  A  new  see  was  erected  at  Al- 
legheny. To  this  Bishop  Domenec  was  transferred  on  the  11th 
of  January,  1876,  being  succeeded  in  Pittsburgh  by  Right  Rev, 
Dr.  Tuigg.  The  organization  of  the  new  diocese  engaged  Bishop 
Domenec's  attention,  and,  ever  zealous  and  active,  he  doubtless 
planned  many  things  for  its  advantage.  But  the  division  of  the 
diocese  entailed  difficulties  which  he  had  not  foreseen.  In  order 
to  bring  all  questions  to  a  decision  Dr.  Domenec  proceeded  to 
Kome  in  1877,  but,  finding  the  matter  a  difficult  one,  hjB  resigned 
the  see  of  Allegheny  on  the  29th  of  July  and  retired  to  Barce* 
lona.  There  he  impressed  all  by  his  eloquence  and  zeal.  To> 
ward  the  close  of  the  year  he  set  out  for  his  native  city,  but  at 
Tarragona  was  seized  with  a  fatal  illness,  and  expired  calmly  on 
the  7th  of  January,  1878. 


m 


'm 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  TUIGG, 

2%ird  Bishop  of  Pittahwgh, 

The  Right  Rev.  John  Tuigg,  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh,  is  a  native 
of  Ireland,  bom  in  the  County  Cork  in  the  year  1820.  Kis 
divinity  studies,  begun  at  the  Missionary  College  of  All-Hallows', 
Drumcondra,  were  completed  at  St.  Michaol's  Seminary,  Pitts- 
burgh. He  was  ordained  May  14,  1860,  and  while  assistant  at 
the  cathedral  founded  the  parish  of  St.  Bridget,  beginning  to 
erect  the  church ;  but  in  1853  he  was  assigned  to  the  important 
mission  of  Altoona,  of  which  he  was  the  fii'st  resident  pastor. 


840 


THB:  OATHOtilO  HIBRABOHT  IN  TBB  UNITBD  STATBS, 


He  acquired  a  pastoral  residence,  a  cemetery,  and  enlarged  tlie 
church.  A  very  fine  school-building  was  the  next  work,  and,  in 
the  hands  of  Sisteis  of  Charity,  the  parochial  school  has  been  a 
great  blessing. 

F  jv.  Mr.  Tui/^g  had  charge  also  of  seyeral  dependent  missions, 
and,  having  been  appointed  vicar-f  orane  of  the  eastern  part  of  the 
diocese  in  18G9,  soon  required  other  priests  to  aid  him.  He  then 
commei^ced  a  new  church,  which  was  dedicated  in  1875. 

Having  been  appointed  to  the  see  of  Pittsburgh  in  the  fol* 
lowing  year,  he  was  consecrated  on  the  19th  of  March,  1876, 
by  the  Most  Rev.  James  F.  Wood,  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia. 
The  diocese  committed  to  his  care  was  no  slight  burden,  but  on 
the  resignation  df  Bishop  Domenec  the  administration  of  Alle- 
gheny was  also  confided  to  him.  The  arduous  duties  proved  too 
trying  even  for  his  vigorous  constitution.  In  December,  1882, 
he  was  prostrated  by  an  attack  of  heart-disease  and  his  life  was 
despaired  of ;  but  he  tallied,  and,  though  he  was  stiicken  with 
paralysis,  I'ecovered  sufficiently  to  administer  the  dioceses  lender 
his  care. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1884  the  united  dioceses  of  Pitts- 
burgh and  Allegheny  contained  192  priests,  132  churches,  and 
44  chapels.  There  were  three  colleges,  six  academies,  and  sixty- 
five  parochial  schools  attended  by  nearly  twenty  thousand 
pupils.  The  i»ligious  orders  were  numerous :  Benedictine  monks, 
Capuchin  and  Carmelite  friara,  Passionists,  Bedemptorists, 
Priests  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  immaculate  Heart  of  Mary, 
Franciscan  Brothers,  Benedictine  and  Ursuline  nuns.  Sisters  of 
Charity,  of  Mercy,  of  St.  Joseph,  of  St.  Agnes,  of  St.  Francis,  of 
Divine  Providence,  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor,  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  teach  the  ignorant^  minister 
to  the  afflicted,  or  strive  to  reform  the  erring. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1891  the  diocese  of  Pittsburgh 
contained  233  priests  and  14  seminarians,  135  churches  and  44 
chapels,  8  monasteries  and  55  convents,  6  colleges,  with  570  stu- 
dents, 9  academies  and  400  students,  79  parochial  schools  with 
21,000  pupils;  there  were  reported  8,846  annual  baptisms,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  about  185,000. 


™-'*''- *' ■■  ■%''" 


DtOOBSS  09  PITT8BUMB. 


d4ft 


BIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  PHELAN,  D.D., 

Bishop  of  Cehyra  and  Coadjutor  to  the  Bishop  of  PUtahwrgh, 

The  Right  Rev.  Richard  JPhelan,  son  of  Michael  Phelan  and 
Mary  Keoghan,  was  born  on  the  let  day  of  January,  1828,  near 
the  small  town  of  Ball/ragget,  in  thci  Oounty  of  Kilkenny,  Ire- 
land, the  oldest  of  a  family  ot  nine,  four  of  whom  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  God.  After  attending  schools  near  his 
home,  and  receiving  private  instruction,  he  entered  St.  Kyran's 
College,  Kilkenny,  About  1844,  and,  finding  no  vacancy  in  the 
seminary  of  bis  native  diocese,  accepted  an  invitation  from  Bishop 
O'Connor  and  was  one  of  six  who  came  to  Pittsburgh  in  January, 
1850.  He  made  his  divinity  course  at  St.  Mary's  Theological 
Seminary,  Baltimore,  and  was  ordained  priest  at  Pittsburgh,  May 
4, 1854,  by  Bishop  O'Connor.  He  was  firat  stationed  in  Indiana 
County,  but  repaired  to  Pittsburgh  to  aid  the  clergy  of  that  city 
during  the  cholera  then  raging.  After  three  yeai-s'  service  in 
Pittsburgh  Cathedral  he  was  sent  to  Freeport,  where  he  found 
heavy  debts  to  meet  and  a  large  distiict  to  attend.  Succeeding  Dr. 
Mullen  at  St.  Peter's  Church,  Allegheny,  he  built  a  new  church, 
costing  $150,000,  on  a  more  advantageous  site,  and  paid  nearly 
all  its  cost  as  well  as  that  of  schools;  In  1876  this  church  be- 
came the  pro-cathedral  of  the  new  diocese  of  Allegheny.  In 
1881  Dr.  Phelan  was  administrator  of  the  dioceses  of  Pittsburgh 
and  Allegheny  during  the  absence  of  Bishop  Tuigg,  and  was 
next  made  vicar-general.  When  Bishop  Tuigg  was  stricken  with 
partial  paralysis,  and  recovery  seemed  remote,  the  Very  Rev.  Dr. 
Phelan  was  selected  by  the  Pope  as  coadjutor.  He  was  conee- 
crated  August  2,  1885,  at  Pitt^buigh  by  Archbishop  Ryan,  and 
entered  on  the  discharge  of  the  episcopal  duties  which  Bishop 
Tuigg's  health  precluded  him  from  performing.  Bishop  Phelan 
continued  to  reside  in  Allegheny,  St.  Peter's  again  enjoying  the 
presence  of  one  invested  with  the  episcopal  dignity.  He  succeeded 
to  the  see  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Tuigg^  December  7, 1889 


■  ■■  «*3 


DIOCESE  OF  PORTLAND. 


RIGHT  REV.  DAVID  W.  BACON, 

Mrat  Bishop  of  Portland, 

David  W.  Baoon  was  bom  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  the 
year  1814,  and  after  an  academic  course  he  was  sent  to  the  Sul- 
pitian  Seminary,  Montreal,  and  subsequently  entered  Mount  St. 
Mary's  College,  Emmittsburg,  where  he  was  distinguished  for 
his  brilliant  and  studious  course.  After  his  ordination  by  Arch- 
bishop Eccleston,  on  the  18th  of  December,  1888,  he  returned  to 
the  diocese  of  New  York.  One  of  the  first  positions  of  the 
young  priest  was  that  of  assistant  at  Utica,  but  he  was  soon  ap- 
pointed to  organize  a  new  parish  in  Brooklyn.  He  acquired  an 
unfinished  building  begun  as  a  revolt  from  the  Church,  and  on 
the  foundation  reared  a  '^hurch  which  he  dedicated  to  Our  Lady 
in  her  Assumption.  Hi^  flock,  at  first  poor  and  scanty,  gradu- 
ally increased,  many  converts  being  won  by  the  zealous  pnest. 
Though  gentle,  he  was  finu,  and  his  decision  saved  the  church  of 
St.  James  from  destruction  by  a  mob.  During  seasons  of  sick- 
ness and  epidemics  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon  was  untiring  and  fearless. 
In  time  he  projected  a  new  church  to  meet  the  wants  of  Catho- 
lics in  the  growing  city,  and,  collecting  money  from  house  to 
house,  began  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  "  Star  of  the  Sea " ;  but 
though  he  nearly  completed  it,  he  refused  to  leave  his  old  parish. 

He  was,  however,  summoned  to  a  higher  charge,  having  been 
appointed  to  the  new  see  of  Portland.  The  diocese  of  which  it 
was  the  spiritual  centre  comprised  the  two  States  of  Maine  and 
New  Hampshire,  where  Catholics  were  few,  but  prejudice  and  in- 
tolerance intense.  A  year  before  a  zealous  and  blameless  priest, 
the  Rev.  John  Bapst,  was  tarred  and  feathered,  by  order  of  a 

8U 


DIOCESE  OF  PORTLAND. 


840 


town  meeting,  at  Ellsworth,  and  churclies  in  New  Hampsbire — a 
State  in  which  to  this  day  no  Catholic  can  hold  office — ^had  been 
attacked  and  burned. 

Bishop  Bacon  was  consecrated  in  the  cburch  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception,  Portland,  April  22,  1855,  and  courageously  un-' 
ddrtook  to  extend  Catholicity  in  the  dangerous  ifield  assigned  to 
him,  in  wbich  there  were  estimated  to  be  thirty  thousand  Catho- 
lics, but  only  ten  priests  in  the  two  States  attending  the  humble 
churches.  Yet  Catholicity  had  been  the  firat  to  plant  the  altar 
in  Maine,  at  Boone  Island  and  Mount  Desert ;  and  there  were  in 
the  State  Catholic  Indians,  descendants  of  the  converts  of  early 
Jesuit,  Capuchin,  and  Recollect.  Bishop  Bacon  began  his  work 
with  judgment  and  zeal.  Aided  by  the  friends  his  course  had 
made  in  Brooklyn,  he  was  enabled  to  meet  some  pressing  wants. 
The  Sisters  of  Mercy  came  in  response  to  his  call  for  aid,  and 
churches  began  to  arise,  while  zealous  priests  came  to  open  new 
fields.  Year  by  year  the  progress  of  the  faith  could  be  seen,  and 
after  an  administration  of  nearly  twenty  years  he  had  a  fine 
cathedral,  sixty-three  churches,  fifty-two  priests,  twenty-three  pa- 
rochial schools,  and  nearly  eighty  thousand  Catholics.  In  1874 
his  health  failed,  and,  in  hopes  of  regaining  strength,  he  visited 
Europe  with  Archbishop  McCloskey.  On  reaching  Brest  it  was 
necessary  to  convey  him  to  an  hospital.  Rallying  after  a  time, 
he  longed  to  return  to  America,  but  reached  New  York  only  to 
expire,  at  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  soon  after  his  arrival,  November 
5,1874. 


""■S 

^'^ 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  AUGUSTINE  HEALY, 

Second  Bishop  of  Portland. 

Jaxisb  Auoushnb  Healy  was  born  in  1830  near  Macon, 
Georgia,  but  was  educated  in  the  North,  having  passed  several 
years  in  Quaker  schools  on  Long  Island  and  New  Jersey.  He 
then  entered  the  college  of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusettSj  where  he  was  graduated  in  1849.    Feeling  that  he  was 


S4« 


THE  OATHOI  :a  HIBBAROHT  IN  THB  UNITED  8TATB& 


called  by  God  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  he  then  entered  the 
theological  seminary  in  Monti-eal  directed  by  the  Sulpitians, 
and  completed  his  course  in  the  institution  at  Paris  directed  by 
the  same  association  of  learned  priests. 

On  returning  to  the  diocese'  of  Boston,  to  which  he  had  be- 
*  come  attached,  he  was  stationed  at  the  cathedral,  where  he  acted 
fc-r  many  yeara  as  chancellor  and  secretary.  He  then  became 
pastor  of  St.  James'  Church,  Boston,  holding  the  position  for  nine 
«  years,  winning  the  respect  of  his  fellow-pi  ests  and  the  attach* 
ment  of  the  flock  confided  to  him.  From  this  position  he  was 
summoned  by  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Father  to  assume  the  bur* 
den  of  the  episcopate.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Portland 
on  the  2d  of  June,  1875. 

During  his  nine  yearsV  administration  more  than  thirty  new 
churches  were  erected,  and  the  clergy  rose  from  fifty-two  to  eighty 
nine.  The  immigration  of  Oitholics  from  Europe  was  more  than 
equalled  by  the  influx  of  Canadians,  who  settled  in  the  factory 
towns  and  drew  priests  of  their  own  language  from  the  neighbor* 
ing  Dominion.  To  meet  the  wants  of  his  people  Bishop  Healy 
introduced  Sisters  of  Charity,  Sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  Notre 
Dame,  as  well  as  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
from  Canada,  and  also  Marianite  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  and 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd. 

In  1884  the  Holy  See  erected  the  State  of  New  Hampshire 
iflto  a  diocese,  of  which  Manchester  became  the  episcopal  see, 
Bishop  Healy  retaining  the  less  promising  field  of  Maine,  which 
now  constitutes  the  diocese  of  Portland.  After  the  divisicn  the 
diocese  of  Portland  had  51  priests,  55  churches,  and  11  chapels, 
with  8  academies  and  1 2  parochial  schools,  3  of  them  for  Indian 
children,  with  more  than  3,000  pupils  under  Catholic  training. 
'  Sisters  of  Mercy,  of  Charity,  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  of  the 
Congregation  of  Notre  Dame  acted  as  teachers  and  conducted 
asylums..   The  annual  baptisms  were  2,690. 

In  1891  the  above  summary  had  increased  to  the  following: 
70  priests^  70  churches  and  10  chapels,  1  college,  4  academies,  15 
parochial  schools  with  5,700  pupils,  3  schools  for  Indians;  a 
Catholic  population  of  about  80,000.  one  thousand  of  whom  are 
Indians, 


DIOCESE  OF  PROVIDENCE. 


r 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  F.  HENDRIOKEN, 

^irat  Bishop  of  Providence. 

Providekojb  was  for  a  time  the  residence  of  the  Bishop  of 
Hartfoi'd,  but^  a  division  being  made  in  the  diocese,  the  Rhode 
Island  capital  became  an  episcopal  see.  Right  Rev.  Thomas  F. 
Hendricken,  the  first  Bishop  of  Providence,  was  bom  in  the  ca- 
thedral parish  of  the  city  of  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  on  the  6th  of 
May,  1827,  his  parents  being  John  Hendricken  and  Anne  Maher. 
After  preliminary  studies  in  McDonald's  Academy,  Kilkenny,  he 
entered  St.  Kyran's  College  in  that  city,  and  showed  such  ability 
that  he  was  selected  as  one  of  the  few  to  enter  the  great  theo- 
logical seminary  at  Maynooth  in  1847.  He  was  ordained  at  All- 
Hallows'  College,  Dublin,  April  29, 1853,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Ber- 
nard O'Reilly,  of  Hartford,  to  whom  he  had  offered  his  services. 
His  earliest  missions  in  America,  were  at  the  cathedral  in  Provi- 
dence, at  St.  Joseph's,  in  the  same  city,  at  Woonsocket  and  New- 
port. On  the  17th  of  January,  1854,  he  was  appointed  pastor  of 
St.  Joseph's,  West  Winsted,  Conn.,  and  on  the  5th  of  July  in  the 
ensuing  year  was  stationed  at  Waterbury,  in  the  same  State. 
This  became  a  permanent  field  of  labor,  and  for  seventeen  years 
he  was  the  zealous  pastor  of  Waterbury  and  of  the  missions  de- 
pendent on  it. 

What  he  accomplished  in  this  parish  commended  him  to  a 
higher  appointment,  and  on  the  division  of  the  diocese  of  Hart- 
ford he  was  selected  as  Bishop  of  Providence.  The  district 
placed  under  his  charge  comprised  the  State  of  Rhode  Island, 
together  with  Bristol,  Barnstable,  and  part  of  Plymouth  County 
in  Massachusetts,  and  the  islands  of  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Nan* 
tnckei 


848 


TBI  OATBOLIO  HIBRARCHT  IN  TBB  UKITBD  STATIB. 


Bishop  Hendrioken  was  consecrated  bishop  on  the  28th  of 
April,  1879,  and  proceeded  to  organize  his  diocese. 

During  the  Revolutionary  war  the  chaplains  of  the  French 
army  and  navy  officiated  in  Rhode  Island.  The  famous  convert, 
Rev.  John  Thayer,  had  visited  Newport  as  early  as  1791,  and 
ministered  to  the  Catholics  there,  and  they  were  occasionally 
visited  in  later  years;  but  it  was  not  till  1828  that  Rev.  Robert 
D.  Woodley,  purchasing  an  old  school-house,  opened  the  first 
church  in  that  city.  In  the  same  year  a  lot  was  given  for  a 
church  in  Providence.  From  such  small  beginnings  the  faith 
grew,  and  when  Bishop  Hendricken  assumed  the  direction  of 
his  diocese  Providence  had  ten  churches,  that  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul  becoming  his  pro-cathedral,  and  there  were  thirty-three 
churches  outside  the  limits  of  his  episcopal  city.  The  Catholic 
body  had  grown  to  the  imposing  strength  of  125,000,  and  there 
were  institutions  directed  by  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools, 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  Sisters  of  Charity.  Yet  there  was  work 
to  be  done,  and  the  bishop  zealously  undertook  it.  Canadian- 
French  had  settled  in  the  factory-towns,  and  Portuguese  in  the 
fishing-villages  on  the  coast,  once  the  nursery  of  hardy  New 
England  seamen.  These  needed  priests  able  to  addrc  them  in 
their  own  language. '  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  Ursuline 
nuns  established  academies  of  a  higher  grade  than  any  yet  in 
the  diocese.  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  and  of  the  Holy  Cross  in- 
creased the  number  of  teachers,  while  the  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor  opened  a  Home  for  the  Aged.  Nearly  a  hundred  priests 
were  laboring  in  1884  in  this  diocese,  and  there  were  fifty-five 
churches ;  parochial  schools  are  numerous,  and  the  attendance 
reaches  nearly  ten  thousand,  the  whole  Catholic  population 
being  estimated  at  156,000,  the  baptisms  in  Rhode  Island  in 
1883  being  3,602,  and  in  Massachusetts  2,500.  A  large  and  im- 
posing cathedral,  worthy  of  the  diocese,  was  nearly  complied  in 
1884. 

•  Bishop  Hendricken  died  at  Providence  on  the  11th  of  June, 
1886,  having  won  the  esteem  of  Catholic  and  Protestant  alike 
During  his  administration  he  erected  a  fine  cathedral  and  in- 
creased greatly  the  number  of  churches,  academies,  and  schools. 


Catholic, 
his  son  f 
cUra  in  tl 
laws  on  1 
at  the  pc 
cieut  faiti 
were  malj 
to  bring  i 
succeeded 
of  Virgil 
willing  t< 
a  separat 

The 
Patrick 
first  bisl 
August, 
and  in  J 
but  seve 
priests 
proved  1 
opened 
congreg 
fully  to 
religion 
penod 
arduous 


DIOCESE  OF  RICHMOND. 


RIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  KELLY, 

Itrst  bishop  of  Richmond, 

VmonnA  had,  as  a  colony,  closed  her  doors  against  the 
Catholic.  Lord  Baltimore  was  not  permitted  to  land,  and  when 
his  son  founded  a  home  for  Catholics  in  Maryland  the  fanati- 
cism in  the  older  colony  left  traces  of  its  bitterness  in  the  penal 
laws  on  her  statute-book.  There  were  few  Caljolics  in  Virginia 
at  the  period  of  our  Revolution,  and  few  emigrants  of  the  an- 
cient faith  ventured  to  settle.  Yet,  small  as  the  body  was,  there 
were  malcontents,  chiefly  at  Norfolk,  where  a  plot  was  formed 
to  bring  in  a  Jansenist  bishop  from  Holland.  About  1820  they 
succeeded  in  persuading  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  that  the  Catholics 
of  Virginia  were  neglectied,  and  that,  as  they  were  able  and 
willing  to  maintain  a  bishop,  the  State  ought  to  be  formed  into 
a  separate  diocese. 

The  see  of  Richmond  was  erected  in  1820,  and  the  Rev. 
Patrick  Kelly,  President  of  Birchfield  College,  was  selected  as 
first  bishop.  He  was  consecrated  at  Kilkenny  on  the  24th  of 
August,  1820,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Troy,  of  Dublin, 
and  in  January  of  the  next  year  reached  Norfolk.  He  found 
but  seven  churches  in  the  whole  State,  four  of  them  attended  by 
priests  living  in  Maryland.  The  resources  of  jthe  Catholics 
proved  to  have  been  grossly  exaggerated,  and  che  learned  bishop 
opened  a  school' at  Norfolk  in  order  to  maintain  himself,  the 
congregation  being  unable  to  support  him.  He  struggled  man- 
fully to  afford  the  scattered  Catholics  the  consolations  of  their 
religion,  but  the  difficulty  of  travel  and  communication  at  that 
penod  made  it  no  easy  task  to  reach  them.  After  a  yearns 
arduous  seiTice  Bishop  Kelly's  health  failed,  and  in  July,  1822, 


850 


THB  OATHOUO  BIVKaROHT  IN  THB  UNTTRD  8TATI8. 


he  wu  translated  to  the  united  aees  of  Waterford  and  Lismore, 
which  he  held  till  his  death,  October  8,  1829,  leaving  a  repq. 
tation  for  piety  and  earnest  seal  in  his  episcopal  functions. 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  VINCENT  WHELAN, 
Second  Bishop  of  Richmond  and  Mrat  Bishop  of  Wheeling. 

After  the  departure  of  Bishop  Kelly  the  administration  of 
the  diocese  of  Richmond  was  committed  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore  and  his  successors  in  that  see,  nor  was  it  till  twenty 
years  later  that  the  Catholic  body  in  Virginia  had  grown  so 
large  as  to  require  a  resident  bishop. 

Right  Rev.  Richard  Vincent  Whelan,  selected  as  the  second 
Bishop  of  Richmond,  was  born  in  Baltimore  on  the  28th  of 
January,  1809.  After  some  years  spent  at  Mount  St.  Mary's 
College,  Emmittsburg,  he  was  sent  to  Paris,  where  he  pursued 
studies  for  the  priesthood  under  the  disciples  of  the  Venerable 
Bfr.  Olier.  He  was  ordained  in  1832  and  was  soon  after  sent  to 
Virginia ;  he  traversed  a  large  part  of  the  State,  finding  scattered 
Catholics,  but  meeting  great  courtesy  from  the  people  at  large. 
Martinsburg  became  his  central  mission,  whence  he  attended 
Harper's  Ferry,  trudging  to  and  from  it  on  foot.  He  also  made 
missionary  excursions  to  Winchester  and  Bath.  To  aid  him  in 
his  work  he  obtained  three  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  founded  a 
house  at  Martinsburg.  When,  in  1838,  Archbishop  Eccleston 
found  that  Virginia  had  a  Catholic  population  of  nine  thousand, 
and  eight  chufches,  he  requested  the  Holy  See  to  fill  the  long- 
vacant  see  of  Richmond.  The  zealous  pastor  of  Martinsburg 
was  selected,  and  he  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  Balti- 
more on  the  21st  of  March,  1841.  He  began  a  theological  semi- 
nary in  order  to  create  a  supply  of  priests,  opened  an  asylum  at 
Richmond  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  a  school  at  Norfolk 
which  he  committed  to  other  members  of  that  community. 

Bishop  Whelan  visited  his  diocese  and -became  fully  aware  of 


DI00E8B  OF  RICHMOND. 


861 


the  condition  and  prospects  of  his  flock.  Oatbolics  were  increas- 
ing 80  much  in  numbers  in  Western  Virginia  that  in  1846  he 
resolved  to  take  up  his  residence  at  Wheeling.  Here  he  found 
more  abundant  work ;  but  as  the  distance  from  llichmond  was 
great,  he  felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  bishop  in  each  city. 
The  Fathers  of  the  Seventh  Gouncil  of  Baltimore,  adopting  his 
view,  petitioned  the  Holy  See  for  a  division  of  the  diocese.  The 
gee  of  Wheeling  was  erected  by  a  bull  of  July  28,  1850,  and 
Bishop  Whelan  was  transferred  to  it.  When  he  fixed  his 
residence  in  the  western  city  its  Catholic  population  did  not 
exceed  six  hundred,  and  they  iUad  one  small  church.  Outside 
the  city  there  was  one  other  church  in  the  new  diocese.  Yet 
Bishop  Whelan  resr  Ived  to  erect  a  cathedral,  and,  purchasing  one 
fine  house  for  a  convent-scnool  ar  4.  anotiier  for  a  site  of  his  ppo* 
jeeted  church,  took  it  down  '-^  lay  the  corner-stone.  By  the 
time  it  was  ready  for  use  there  were  tw  priests  attached  to  the 
cathedral,  a  large  sch(ol  taught  by  six  seminarians,  and  an 
academy  under  Visitation  nuns.  The  rest  of  his  (liocese  was  not 
neglected.  He  traversed  mountain  and  stream  to  visit  his  flock, 
preaching  in  churches,  court-houses,  administering  confirmation, 
encouraging  his  hard-working  priests.  His  activity  and  courage 
were  great,  and  even  advancing  age  could  not  diminish  them. 
On  one  of  his  visitations  he  was  prostrated  by  illness,  and  had 
not  a  charitable  family  taken  him  in  and  nursed  him  the  Bishop 
of  Wheeling  might  have  died  uncared  for. 

In  1853  Jo  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  opened  an  hospital;  in 
1866  a  college  was  begun  at  Wheeling,  and  at  Parkersburg  a 
Visitation  academy  and  a  high-school  for  boys  were  opened. 
The  Sistera  of  St.  Joseph  also  enlarged  their  work,  establishing 
acadoLiies  at  Charleston  and  Grafton. 

Bishop  Whelan  lived  to  see  forty-eight  churches  and  twenty* 
nine  priests  where  he  had  found  two  churches  and  four  priests. 
He  died  piously  at  St.  Agnes'  Hospital,  Wheeling,  July  7, 1874. 


8S2  THE  OATHOLIO  HI^RABCHY  IN  THB  UMiTBD  STATB8L 

RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  MoGILL, 

Third  Bishop  of  Richmond, 

John  MoGill  was  bom  in  Philadelphia,  November  4, 1809,  his 
parents,  James  McGill  and  Lavinia  Dougherty,  natives  of  Ireland, 
having  settled  and  married  there.  B&rdstown  became  the  home 
of  the  family  in  1818,  and  two  years  after  John  entered  St. 
Joseph's  College  at  its  opening.  His  father,  liberally  educated 
himself,  wished  his  son  to  enjoy  every  advantage.  He  was  grad- 
uated in  due  time  with  distinguished  honor.  He  studied  law, 
and  fame  and  wealth  seemed  certain,  but  he  threw  all  aside  to 
eiter  the  seminary,  where  he  was  trained  to  the  spirit  and  learn- 
ing befitting  a  priest  by  the  venerable  Bishop  David,  by  whom 
he  was  ordained  June  13,  1835.  As  pastor  of  St.  Peter's, 
Lexington,  and  assistant  at  St.  Louis^  Church,  Louisville,  his 
ministry  was  marked  by  success.  In  1838  he  was  sent  to  Europe 
to  accompany  the  venerable  Bishop  Flaget  on  his  return  to  Ken- 
tucky. Then  he  resumed  his  duties  in  the  parish,  and  as  editor 
of  the  Catholic  Advocate  made  a  decided  impression  on  the  pub- 
lic mind  in  his  clear  and  convincing  articles.  When  a  league 
of  Protestant  ministers  was  formed  to  denounce  Catholicity  in  a 
series  of  sermons.  Dr.  McGill  answered  them  so  ably  as  to  put 
them  on  the  defensive  and  finally  compel  them  to  retire  from 
the  field.  He  then  published  a  criticism  on  some  statements  in' 
Macaulay's  "  England"  in  reply  to  Rev.  James  Craik.  This  was 
followed  by  a  translation  of  Audin^s  "Life  of  Calvin." 

Bishop  Spalding  made  the  learned  and  able  clergyman  his 
vicar-general,  and  in  1850  he  was  appointed  to  the  see  of  Rich- 
mond. He  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of  St.  Louis, 
on  the  10th  of  November,  in  St.  Joseph's  Church,  Bardstown, 
where  he  had  made  his  First  Communion,  received  the  tonsure 
and  holy  orders.  His  aged  parents  were  present  to  receive  his 
episcopal  blessing. 

In  Virginia  Bishop  McGill  found  a  warm  welcome  and  ac- 
quired the  esteem  of  all.  He  zealously  undertook  the  direction 
of  the  diocese,  acting  in  concert  with  his  clergy,  and  adding  to 
t^e  n^Al^s  for  preserving  the  faith  of  the  people.    His  djocese 


DIOOBSB  OF  UOHMONp 


868 


comprised  eastern  Virginia  and  the  valley  formed  by  the  Bine 
Bidge  and  Allegheny  Mountains  as  far  as  Monroe  County,  where 
ii;  crossed  the  valley  and  followed  the  Blue  Ridge  as  the  line  di- 
viding it  from  the  diocese  of  Wheeling.  There  were  but  ten 
churches  in  it  and  only  eight  priests.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  from 
Emmittsburghad  two  institutions  in  the  diocese,  combining  orphan 
asylum  and  school. '  Under  his  administration  churches  were 
erected  and  dedicated  at  Norfolk,  Fortress  Monroe,  Richmond, 
Fredericksburg,  Warrenton,  and  at  Fairfax  Station.  His  dio- 
cese was  the  great  battle-ground  of  the  civil  war,  and  the  Catholic 
churches  fared  ill  at  the  hands  of  both  armies.  The  church  at 
Bath  was  destroyed  by  fire  while  used  as  quarters  by  Confed- 
erate soldiers.  The  United  States  troops  stabled  their  horses  in 
the  church  at  Winchester  and  utterly  wreo^ed  it  Bishop  Mc- 
Gill  had  therefore  a  heavy  charge,  but  he  formed  a  little  semi- 
nary, and  after  the  war  introduced  the  Visitation  and  the  Bene- 
dictine nuns,  who  gave  Richmond  fine  academies,  and  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  who  established  a  similar  institution  in  Alexan- 
dria. He  had  fourteen  parochial  schools — ^a  large  number  for  a 
Catholic  population  of  not  more  than  seventeen  thousand. 

Bishop  McGill  visited  Rome  at  the  definition  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception  in  1852,  and  to  attend  the  General  Council  of 
the  Vatican.  While  Bishop  of  Richmond  he  published  ''The 
True  Church"  and  "Faith  the  Victory."  His  health  failed  in 
1871,  and  he  made  a  farewell  visit  to  his  relatives  in  Kentucky. 
Upon  his  return  he  gradually  grew  worse,  and,  after  great  suffer- 
ing, expired  Sunday,  January  14,  1872. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  KEANE,  D.D., 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Richmond^  and  now  Hector  of  the  CathdUo 
University f  Washington^  D.  C. 

John  J.  Keane  was  bom  at  Ballyshannon,  County  Donegal, 
Ireland,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1839,  and  came  with  his 
family  to  the  United  States  when  he  was  seven  years  old.    He 


864 


THB  CATHOLIC  BlBItABCB7  IN  THE  tJNITBD  STATBS. 


received  his  early  euacation  in  Baltimore,  and,  after  a  classical 
course  at  St.  Charles'  College,  entered  St.  Mary's  Seminary, 
Baltimore,  and  was  ordained  in  1866.  He  was  immediately  ap- 
pointed assistant  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  'n  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  labored  in  that  position  with  such  zeal  and 
earnestness  that  he  was  selected  in  1878  to  fill  the  see  of  Kich- 
mond.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  25th  of  August  in  that  year. 
The  State  in  which  the  first  Catholic  altar  in  our  land  was 
reared  by  the  sons  of  St.  Dominic,  ere  the  sixteenth  century 
had  reached  its  zenith,  had  not  been  favorable  to  the  growth  of 
the  Church  of  the  living  God.  In  colonial  days  it  liad  degraded 
the  children  of  the  faith  to  the  level  of  the  negro  slave  ;  in  1878 
only  twenty-two  churches  were  to  be  found  in  the  Old  Dominion 
where  Divine  Worship  was  offered  to  the  Most  High. 

Bishop  Keane  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  organization  of 
Catholic  societies  throughout  the  country.  He  was  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in 
1884.  In  1885  his  diocese  contained  thirty -fiv^e  churches,  with 
twenty-seven  priests,  four  academies,  thii-ty-two  parochial  schools 
with  more  than  two  thousand  pupils. 

He  was  translated  to  the  see  of  Ajasso  in  August,  1888,  and 
became  Rector  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America,  which  was 
dedicated  at  Washington,  D.  C,  on  November  13,  1889.  Rt.  Rev. 
A.  Van  de  Vy  ver,  D.D.,  succeeded  him  as  Bishop  of  the  diocese 
of  Richmond,  Va.     The  latter  was  consecrated  in  October,  1889. 

There  were,  at  this  time,  in  the  diocese,  28  secular  and  4  regu- 
lar priests,  39  churches  and  20  chapels,  2  convents,  5  academies 
with  430  students,  32  parochial  schools  and  2,000  pupils,  4 
charitable  institutions,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  15,000. 


is. 


a  classical 
Seminary 
liately  ap. 
he  city  of 
I  2eal  and 
J  of  Kicli. 
that  year, 
land  was 
1  century 
growth  of 
degraded 
;  in  1878 
-)ominion 

zation  of 
le  of  the 
imore  in 
les,  with 
I  schools 

888,  and 
lich  was 
Rt.  Rev. 
diocese 
',  1889. 
4  regu- 
idemies 
ipils,  4 
0. 


Right  Rev.  J.  J.  Keane.  D.D., 
Rector  Catholic  University. 


"^^SaM^iti.ii.  t'^i^'-Aiit&Ui^^'lti^Mi^S&i 


DIOCESE  OF  ROCHESTER 


RIGHT  REV.  BERNARD  J.  MoQUAID, 

First  Bishop  of  Mooheater,, 


BsBiTABD  Joseph  McQuaid  was  bom  in  the  city  of  Netv 
York,  and,  after  preliminary  studies  at  one  of  the  schools  there, 
was  sent  to  Chambly,  and  subsequently  to  the  College  of  Mon* 
treal,  directed  by  the  priests  of  the  Association  of  St.  Sulpice. 
He  was  one  of  the  students  of  St.  Joseph's  Theological  Seminary 
atFordham  after  its  establishment  by  Bishop  Hughes,  and  was 
ordained  on  the  18th  of  January,  1848.  His  first  appointment 
was  that  of  pastor  of  the  church  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  at 
Madison,  New  Jersey ;  the  congregation  of  St.  Mary's,  Morris 
town,  being  also  under  his  charge.  He  showed  himself  an  active 
and  energetic  missionary  in  the  care  of  a  large  district,  and  when 
the  diocese  of  Newark  was  formed,  in  1853,  Rev.  Mr.  McQuaid 
was  selected  by  Bishop  Bayley  as  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathe* 
dral.  His  influence  was  soon  apparent,  and  when  Seton  Hall  Col- 
lege was  opened,  in  1856,  at  Madison,  he  was  appointed  presi- 
dent ;  but,  after  organizing  that  institution,  x'^sumed  his  position 
at  the  cathedral  till  1859,  when  he  resumed  the  presidency.  In 
Newark  he  organized  a  Young  Men's  Catholic  Association,  which 
erected  the  Catholic  Institute  in  New  Street — a  fine  building, 
with  library,  reading-room,  and  halls  for  innocent  diversions. 
This  Institute  rendered  stich  service  to  the  young  men  that  it  re- 
ceived the  warmest  encomiums  from  the  city  authorities  and  the 
best  class  of  the  people.  In  I'^GO  he  became  vicar-genefal  of  the 
diocese,  and  in  that  capacity,  as  in  that  of  superior^  of  a  college 
and  theological  seminary,  and  of  pastor  of  important  parishes,  at- 
tracted such  attention  that  when  the  diocese  of  Rochester  was 
formed)  in  1868,  he  was  selected  as  the  first  bishop,  and  was  con 


858 


THB  OATHOUO  HISRABOHf  IN  THB  UNITED  STATBS. 


secrsted  on;  the  llSth  of  July.  The  di9cese  comprised  the  coun- 
ties of  Monroe,  Livingston,  Wayne,  Ontario,  ISeneca,  Cayuga, 
Yates,  and  Tompkins,  and  contained  sixty  churches,  with  thirty- 
eight  priests.  KocheBter  ha«l  a  Ijoun^  of  Redemptorist  Fathers, 
academies  under  the  Ladies  of  the  iSfecred  Heart  and  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  a  hospital  and  asyluin  for  giils  .nder  Sisters  of  Charity, 
one  for  bovs  uivier  Si  ii^iis  oi'  Hi.  Jowej-u,  and  a  German  asylum 
under  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  Parochial  schools  existed 
in  several  parishes.  After  organizing  his  diocese  and  ascertain- 
ing its  wants,  Bishop  McQuaid  laboreti  to  create  churches,  and 
especially  scboold,  wLwrever  Catholics  could  maintain  them.  He 
showed  the  injuaticQ  of  fclie  ^  Mic-school  system,  which,  while 
professing  to  be  neutral,  mally  imposes  Protestant  ideas,  preju- 
dices, and  forms  on  Catholic  pupils,  imbuing  them  with  what 
must  sap  their  religious  faith. 

In  1870  Bishop  McQuaid,  always  earnest  in  bringing  up 
zealous  young  clergymen  for  his  diocese,  founded  St.  Andrew's 
Preparatory  Seminary  to  foster  vocations  to  the  priesthood  in 
the  district  committed  to  his  care.  It  opened  with  seven  stu- 
dents, but  they  were  so  well  chosen  that  six  entered  the  theo- 
logical seminary  at  Troy. 

Bishop  McQuaid  has  taken  part  in  the  deliberations  of  a 
provincial,  a  national,  and  an  cBcumenical  jcouncil,  evincing  at 
New  York,  Baltimore,  and  Borne  learning,  great  experience  in 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  position 
of  the  Catholics  in  this  country,  and  the  dangers  to  which  the 
faith  of  the  rising  generation  is  exposed.  By  his  clear  and 
forcible  arguments  he  obtained  for  Catholic  inmates  of  eleemosy- 
nary and  penal  institutions  in  his  diocese  the  opportunity  of 
exercising  the  right  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
their  conscience,  which  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  New 
York  guarantees  to  the  meanest  of  her  citizens. 

In  1891  Bishop  McQuaid  had  in  his  jurisdiction  78  secular 
priests  and  4  priests  of  the  congregation. of  tho  Holy  Redeemer, 
besides  59  ecclesiastical  students.  There  were  91  churches  and 
chapels,  1  hospital  and  4  orphan  asylums,  36  parochial  schools 
with  10,650  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  77,000. . 


DIOCESE  OF  SAN  ANTONIO. 


RIGHT  REV.  ANTHONY  DOMINIC  PELLICER, 

Fwst  Bishop  of  San  Antonio. 

Anthony  Dominic  Pellioeb  was  born  in  St.  Augustine, 
Florida,  in  the  year  1825 ;  he  was  descended  from  the  brave 
leader  of  the  Minorcans  of  New  Smyrna  who  in  the  last  cen- 
tury revolted  against  the  tyranny  of  TurnbuU  and  marched  to 
St.  Augustine,  where  they  revived  Catholicity.  Anthony  Domi- 
nic, with  his  cousin,  Dominic  Manucy,  made  a  college  course  at 
Spring  Hill  College,  near  Mobile,  and  both  devoted  themselves 
to  God's  service.  After  his  ordination,  Aug.  15,  1850,  Rev.  Mr. 
Pellicer  was  sent  to  St.  Peter's  Church,  Montgomery,  Alaba- 
ma, where  he  spent  several  years,  visiting  Wetumpka,  Tuskigee, 
Whitecreek,  and  Lowndesborough,  and  about  1856  beginning  a 
church  at  Camden,  and  subsequently  organizing  a  congregation 
at  Selma.  In  1865  he  was  recalled  to  Mobile,  and  became  one 
of  the  active  priests  attached  to  the  cathedral,  and  was  in  the 
council  of  the  bishop,  who  in  1867  made  him  vicar-general. 

During  the  Civil  War  he  was  post-chaplain  aud  was  unre- 
mitting in  his  attention  to  the  sick  and  wounded.  His  zeal  and 
devotedness  struck  those  who  were  strangers  to  the  faith,  and  as 
many  as  three  hundred  sought  his  guidance. 

When  the  see  of  San  Antonio  was  erected  the  Very  Rev.  Dr. 
Pellicer  was  elected  the  first  bishop,  and  was  consecrated  at  Mo- 
bile on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  in  the  year  1874. 
His  episcopal  city  dated  back  to  the  early  Spanish  days,  and 
several  time-honored  churches  attested  the  zeal  and  labors  of  the 
Franciscan  Fathers  who,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Venerable 
Antonio  Margil,  planted  Christianity  in  Texas.  The  diocese  of 
San  Antonio»  as  erected  September  3,  1874,  comprised  the  por- 

8S« 


860 


VOA  OATBOLtO  BimURORT  IK  TBB  UNITBO  STAT18. 


tioD  of  the  State  of  Texas  lying  between  the  Colorado  and 
Nueces  rivers.  In  it  there  were  forty  thousand  Catholics,  who 
had  several  churches  and  chapels,  attended  by  thirty-five  priests. 
At  San  Antonio  there  was  a  college  under  the  Brothers  of  Mary, 
an  academy  directed  by  Ursuline  nuns,  a  hospital  and  an  or- 
phan asylum  in  chaise  of  Sistera  of  the  Incarnate  Word ;  there 
were  in  the  diocese  eighteen  parochial  schools  under  the  care  of 
Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  Sistera  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception,  and  Sisters  of  Divine  Providence. 

Bishop  Pellicer  soon  mad()  a  visitation  of  his  diocese,  travel- 
ling in  a  wagon  or  riding  on  horseback,  often  sleeping  on  the 
open  prairie.  He  thus  acquired  a  practical  knowledge  of  every 
parish  in  his  diocese,  and  began  his  labors  to  supply  every  want 
that  he  had  detected.  Under  his  impulse  lew  churches  arose  at 
many  places,  with  schools,  and  to  carry  on  the  work  he  obtained 
many  zealous  priests.  His  labor  was  so  incessant  that  his  health 
gave  way.  He  died  piously  at  San  Antonio  on  the  14th  of 
April,  1680. 


RIGHT  REV.  J.  a  NERAZ, 

Second  Bishop  of  San  Antonio. 

J.  C.  Nbbaz  was  bom  on  the  12th  of  January,  1828,  at  Ause, 
in  the  Depairtment  of  the  Rhone,  France,  and,  after  acquiring 
the  rudiments,  ertered  the  diocesan  seminary  of  St.  Jodard  ;  his 
philosophical  course  he  followed  at  the  Alix  branch  of  the  Great 
Seminary  of  Lyons,  and  completed  his  theology  under  the  Sul- 
pitians  at  Lyons.  Resolving  to  devote  himself  to  foreign  mis- 
sions, he  came  to  the  United  States  in  1852,  and  was  ordained 
subdeacon  by  Bishop  Odin  on  the  28th  of  September,  receiving 
the  holy  order  of  pri.esthood  on  the  19th  day  of  Masch  in  the  suc- 
ceeding year. 

The  young  priest  was  assigned  to  the  mission  of  Nacogdoches, 
in  eastern  Texas,  which  embraced  all  the  northeastern  paii;  of 


DIOOBSB  OF  SAN  ANTOKia 


861 


tbe  State  as  far  as  Red  River.  After  ten  yeats^  labors  in  this 
arduous  field  he  was  transferred  in  1864  to  Liberty  County,  in 
southern  Texas,  where  he  remained  two  years.  In  1866  he  was 
made  assistant  at  San  Antonio,  but  in  September,  1868,  was  re- 
moved to  Laredo.  There  he  completed  the  convent  which  had 
long  previously  been  commenced,  and  erected  the  present  church. 
In  1878  he  was  recalled  to  San  Antonio  to  become  pastor  of  the 
church  of  San  Fernando.  When  the  diocese  of  San  Antonio  was 
established  the  zealous  priest  was  appointed  vicar-general  by 
Bishop  Pellicer.  On  the  death  of  that  prelate  he  became  ad- 
ministrator of  the  diocese,  and,  having  been  chosen  to  succeed 
him,  was  consecrated  bishop  on  the  Sth  of  May,  1881.  He  at- 
tended the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884. 

During  his  administration  as  bishop  the  Priests  of  the  Holy 
Cross  have  opened  St.  Edward's  Academy,  in  Travis  County,  and 
the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word  an  academy  at  Hallettsville, 
in  Lavaca  County.  The  diocese  contained  at  the  commencement 
of  the  year  18^5  forty-seven  priests  and  fifty  chuixshes. 

On  the  Sth  of  July,  1877,  Pope  Pius  IX.  established  the  lim- 
its of  the  diocese  of  San  Antonio  as  follows :  All  that  portion  of 
Texas  lying  between  the  Colorado  and  the  Kio  Grande  rivers,  ex- 
cept the  county  of  El  Paso  and  that  portion  south  of  the  Arroyo 
de  las  Hermanas,  which  empties  into  the  Rio  Grande,  and  of  San 
Roque,  which  runs  mto  the  Nueces  River ;  then  south  of  the  Nue- 
ces River,  with  the  exception  of  the  counties  of  Live  Oak,  Bee, 
Goliad,  and  Refugio. 

Within  the  above  limits  in  1891  there  were  51  priests  and  7 
clerical  students,  52  churches  and  12  chapels,  3  colleges  for  boys 
and  3  academies  for  young  ladies,  26  parochial  schools  and  3 
charitable  institutions,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  50,000.  There 
were  also  1  church  and  2  schools  for  the  colored  population,  with 
250  communicants. 


DIOCESE  OF  SAVANNAH. 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  XAVIER  GARTLAND 

,  First  Bishop  of  Savannah, 

Francis  Xavier  Gartland  was  born  in  Dublin  in  1806,  bui;^ 
coming  to  this  country  in  his  youth,  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's, 
Emmittsburg,  and  was  ordained  priest  by  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Con- 
well,  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  in  1832.  The  Rev.  John  Hughes, 
the  future  great  Archbishop  of  New  York,  had  just  erected 
St.  John's  Church,  and  the  young  piiest  was  appointed  his  as- 
sistant. When  Dr.  Hughes  was  made  coadjutor  of  New  York, 
Rev.  Mr.  Gartland  became  pastor  of  St  John's.  His  zeal  and 
eloquence  endeared  him  to  his  congregation,  and  his  virtues  won 
him  the  esteem  of  his  bishop  and  his  fellow-priests.  From  the 
year  1845  he  acted  also  as  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  and  when 
the  Holy  See,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Seventh  Council  of 
Baltimore,  formed  a  new  diocese  with  the  episcopal  see  at  Savan- 
nah, the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Gartland  was  selected  as  the  first  bishop. 
He  wa^  consecrated  in  his  own  church  at  Philadelphia,  on  the 
10th  of  September,  1860,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Eccles- 
ton. 

The  diocese  of  Savannah,  as  constituted  by  the  bull  of  erec- 
tipn,  comprised  the  State  of  Georgia  with  East  Florida.  For  the 
five  thousand  scattered  Catholics  there  were  eight  churches  in 
Georgia  and  five  in  Florida,  Savannah,  Augusta,  and  Locust 
Grove  being  the  cradles  of  Catholicity  in  the  former  State. 
There  were  no  institutions  except  a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of 
Our  Lady  of  Meitiy  at  Savannah,  and  an  asylum  with  a  school 
at  Augusta. 

The  Church  was  feeble  in  Georgia ;  for  though  Oglethorpe 
planted  tKs  colony  as  a  refuge  for  the  afflicted  and  persecuted, 

8M 


DI00B8B  OP  BAYANNAH. 


868 


be  was  a  slave  to  unmanly  bigotry,  and,  by  its  fundamental  law, 
Georgia  was  forbidden  to  receive  a  Catholic  witbin  its  borders. 
Dr.  Gartland,  after  acquainting  himself  with  the  state  of  his  dio* 
ceae,  visited  Europe  to  obtain  aid  for  it.  Then  he  devoted  him- 
self zealously  to  give  his  actual  flock  and  the  increase  which  he 
felt  would  surely  come  every  advantage  for  practising  their  re- 
ligion. He  made  several  visitations,  enlarged  the  church  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  which  he  selected  as  his  cathedral,  erected 
churches  at  Jekyll  Island,  St.  John's  Beach,  Palatka,  and  Man- 
darin, and  was  preparing  to  establish  one  at  Dal  ton.  In  1858 
the  Sisters  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy  began  a  convent  and  academy 
at  Augusta.  The  next  year  the  yellow  fever  descended  on  the 
fair  city  of  Savannah,  and  Dr.  Gartland  showed  the  people  of 
Georgia  what  a  Catholic  bishop  was.  When  others  fled  he  went 
from  house  to  house,  visiting  the  sick  by  day  or  night,  shrinking 
from  none  of  the  temble  forms  of  death,  till  he  was  himself 
prostrated  by  the  disease,  and  died  on  the  20th  of  September, 
1854. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  BARRY, 

Second  BiBhop  of  Samamnoih. 

John  Bamrt  wae  boni  in  Wexford,  Ireland,  in  1799,  and 
while  in  a  seminary  volunteered  to  become  a  missionary  in  the 
diocese  of  Charleston.  Completing  his  studies  under  Bishop 
England,  he  was  ordained  by  that  great  prelate  September  24, 
1825.  After  one  or  two  temporary  missions  he  became  pastor  of 
the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  Augusta,  in  1827,  with  about 
one-third  of  Georgia  for  his  parish.  Twelve  years  after  he  was 
made  vicar-general  for  that  State,  and  in  1844  for  the  whole  dio- 
cese. Recalled  at  that  time  to  Charleston;  he  assisted  in  the  ca- 
thedral, was  superior  of  the  seminary,  and  was  commissioned  to 
attend  all  vacant  stations  in  the  diocese.  The  historian  of  the 
Church  in  *the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  says:   '^He  labored  on 


804 


THB  OATHOUO  T  >.'APraT  IN  THl  UNITED  8TATW. 


every  mitsion,  in  every  church,  and  in  nearly  every  town  in 
the  three  States  at  one  time  or  another.  He  was  known  to  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  either  personally  or  by  reputation."  He 
was  full  of  activity  and  zeal,  creating  asylum  and  school,  caring 
for  the  young  and  the  helpless.  During  the  visitationi,  of 
the  cholera  and  yellow  fever  he  was  unremitting  in  his  care.  In 
1844  he  was  theologian  to  Bishop  Reynolds  in  the  council  held 
at  Baltimore.  When  the  diocese  of  Savannah  was  established  he 
remained  at  Augusta,  and  became  Bishop  Gartland*s  vicar-general 
in  1853,  and  on  the  bishop^s  death  hastened  to  Savannah  to  re- 
place him  in  attending  the  sick.  After  governing  the  diocese  for 
two  years  as  administrator  he  reluctantly  accepted  the  mitre, 
and  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  the  cathedral 
of  Baltimore  August  2,  1857.  But  his  constant  and  unremitting 
labors  had  broken  the  strong  constitution  and  the  buoyant 
spirit.  He  went  to  Europe  in  1859,  hoping  to  derive  benefit 
from  a  change  of  climate,  but  at  Paris  he  sought  admission 
into  the  hospital  of  the  Brothers  of  St.  John  of  Ood,  and 
there  expired  on  the  19th  of  November,  1859,  edifying  all 
by  his  patience  and  piety.  His  body  lay  in  the  Cemetery  of 
P^re  La  Chaise  till  1 869,  when  Bishop  Persico  conveyed  it  to 
Savannah  and  laid  it  beside  that  of  his  predecessor. 


RIGHT  REV.  AUGUSTINE  VEROT, 

Third  Bishop  of  Samcmnah  and  First  of  St.  Augustiiie. 

Augustine  Vebot  was  bom  at  Le  Puys,  France,  in  May,  1804, 
and,  after  passing  through  a  grammar-school,  entered  the  semi- 
nary of  St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  After  making  a 
course  of  philosophy  and  theology,  with  Lacordaire  and  Dupan- 
loup  as  fellow-students,  he  was  ordained  by  Archbishop  de  Quelen 
September  20,  1828.  Having  been  admitted  into  the  society  of 
St.  Sulpice,  he  was  sent  to  Baltimore  in  1880,  and  was  for  several 
years  professor  in  St.  Mary's  College  and  in  the  seminary.    In 


DIOOIBB  or  SAVANNAB. 


«65 


1863  he  WM  pastor  at  Ellioott's  Mills,  but  his  learning  and  pro* 
dence  were  so  well  recognized  that  Archbishop  Hughes  desired 
him  to  become  superior  of  the  provincial  seminary  which  he  had 
established  at  Troy. 

Florida,  which  had  belonged  successively  to  the  dioceses  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba,  St.  Christopher,  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  Charles* 
ton,  and  Savannah,  was  formed  into  a  vicariate-apostolic,  and  Dr. 
Verot  was  selected,  December  11,  1857,  as  the  first  to  govern  it. 
He  was  consecrated  titular  Bishop  of  Danabe  on  the  25th  of 
April  in  the  ensuing  year.  The  vicariate  comprised  all  the  State 
of  Florida  lying  east  of  the  Apalachicola  River.  When  the  vi* 
cariute  was  established  there  were  only  three  priests  within  its 
limits,  two  at  St.  Augustine  and  one  at  Jacksonville,  the  other 
churches  and  chapels  being  deprived  of  resident  pastors.  Bishop 
Verot  was  installed  June  8,  1858,  and,  regarding  the  education 
of  the  young  as  his  most  urgent  duty,  introduced  the  Brothers  of 
the  Christian  Schools  and  Sisters  of  Mercy ;  he  completed  the 
church  at  Palatka,  enlarged  that  at  Fernandina,  and  took  steps 
to  erect  churches  at  Mandarin,  Orange  Spring,  and  Tampa  Bay. 
He  revived  the  memory  of  early  martyrs  of  the  faith  in  Florida 
and  endeavored  to  regain  the  Church  property.  His  impulse  was 
felt  in  all  parts  of  Florida.  But  the  State  was  not  to  be  his 
sole  charge.  On  the  death  of  Dr.  Barry  he  was,  in  July,  1861,* 
transferred  to  Savannah,  but  retained  the  direction  of  Florida  as 
vicar-apostolic.  The  period  during  which  he  wore  the  mitre  of 
Savannah  includes  that  of  the  Civil  War.  In  that  terrible  period 
the  bishop  had  much  tribulation  and  much  to  stimulate  his  zeal. 
St.  Mary's  Church  in  Camden  County  and  the  elegant  church  at 
Dalton  were  destroyed  by  fire,  but  the  church  at  Atlanta  was 
spared  amid  the  general  desolation.  Notwithstanding  the  difSi- 
culties  of  the  times,  the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  Savan- 
nah was  completed  and  dedicated,  and  when  peace  was  restored 
a  church  was  erected  at  Albany.  The  Ursuline  convent  at  Co- 
lumbia having  been  destroyed  during  the  war,  a  colony  of  the 
nuns  established  a  school  at  Macon,  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
from  St.  Augustine  opened  a  house  at  Columbus.  At  Jackson- 
ville, Florida,  the  church  and  parochial  residence  fell  victims  to 
the  flain«§. 


866 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


Dr.  Verot  dy-ected  tlie  diocese  of  Savannah  and  the  vicariate 
of  Florida  till  the  erection  of  the  see  of  St.  Augustine,  in  1870 
when,  at  his  own  desire,  he  was  transferred  to  it.  In  1876  his 
health  failed,  but  he  remained  cheerful,  and  no  immediate  dan- 
ger was  suspected ;  but  after  saying  Mass  on  the  10th  of  June  he 
expired  so  suddenly  that  there  was  no  opportunity  to  administer 
Extreme  Unction  or  recite  the  prayers  for  the  dying. 

Bishop  Verot  spoke  and  wrote  well,  and  prepared  one  of  the 
best  catechisms  in  use  in  the  country. 


RIGHT  REV.  IGNATIUS  PERSICO, 

Fowrth  Bishop  of  Savannah. 


Ignatius  Persico  was  born  in  Naples  oa  the  30th  of  January, 
1823,  of  a  noble  Sorrentine  family,  and  r(ceived  in  baptism  the 
name  of  Camillus  William  Mary  Peter.  After  completing  his 
classical  course  in  the  college  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  at  Naples 
young  Persico  renounced  all  worldly  prospects  that  lay  open  to 
him  through  the  influence  of  his  family  with  the  government, 
and  in  April,  1839,  entered  the  order  of  Minor  Capuchins,  desir- 
ing to  devote  himself  to  the  foreign  missions.  His  course  of 
study  was  most  thorough,  embracing  the  whole  range  of  secular 
and  sacred  lore.  He  made  his  vows  in  January,  1844,  and  was 
ordained  by  dispensation  January  25,  1846.  He  then  proceeded 
to  Rome  to  enter  the  missionary  college  of  the  order  and  pass  the 
examination  at  the  Propaganda.  Having  been  made  apostolic 
missionary,  he  was  sent  to  the  vicariate-apostolic  of  Patna.  For 
some  years  he  visited  the  remotest  parts  of  that  extensive  vica- 
riate, reaching*  the  frontiers  on  every  side,  including  Nepaul, 
Sickim,  and  Chinese  Tartary.  In  1852  he  was  chosen  com- 
panion to  Bishop  Hartman,  apostolic  visitor  in  the  East  Indies. 
The  pretensions  of  the  Archbishop  of  Goa  seriously  embarrassing 
all  the  vicars-apostolic  in  India,  Father  Persico  was  unanimously 


•<M:-, 


DIOCESE  OF  SAVANNAH. 


367 


lelected  to  proceed  to  Rome  as  commissary.  He  obtained  tlie 
celebrated  bull  Plene  nostis,  and  then,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Holy  See,  went  to  England  to  advocate  before  the  English  gov- 
ernment the  interests  of  the  Catholic  population  in  India.  His 
mission  had  most  satisfactory  results,  and  the  position  of  Catho- 
lics was  completely  changed,  not  only  in  regard  to  the  vicara-apos- 
tolic  and  military  chaplains,  but  also  in  regard  to  the  erec- 
tion of  churches,  asylums,  schools,  and  other  institutions,  Catho- 
lics being  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  Protestants.  Having 
been  chosen  coadjutor  to  the  vicar-apostolic  of  Bombay  March 
8, 1854,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Gratianopolis,  and  soon  af« 
ter  was  made  apostolic  visitor  of  the  Agra  vicariate,  which  he  vis- 
ited, and,  being  made  vicar-apostolic,  governed  it  with  great  fruit. 
His  administration  was  most  laborious  and  eventful,  his  cure  ex- 
tending to  Cashmere,  Cabul,  Afghanistan,  and  Thibet.  He  estab- 
lished schools  and  orphanages,  created  new  missions,  and  formed 
villages  of  n&tive  Christians  till  the  Sepoy  war  swept  all  away, 
leaving  nothing  but  ruins  and  slaughtered  missionaries  and  Chris- 
tians. Bishop  Persico  was  confined  for  months  in  the  fort  of  Agra, 
subjected  to  every  hardship  and  privation.  On  his  release  he  served 
M  chaplain  m  the  British  army,  doing  much  to  save  unfortunate 
people.  After  the  war  he  sailed  for  Europe  to  solicit  means  to 
restore  tb«  Church  in  his  vicariate  to  its  former  condition,  but 
was  shipwrecked  and  ewjaped  almot.t  miraculously.  Having  suc- 
ceeded in  his  rais»)v»n,  he  returned  to  the  vicariate,  and  his  energy 
and  zeal  w*fr*i  soon  rewarded  by  consoling  results.  The  changed 
condition  of  India  after  the  war  required  another  delegation  to 
England  to  secure  Catholic  iuteresii,  but  his  .^.onstant  labors  and 
journeys  had  enf^  .Lied  liwhop  Persico  so  ipu^'b  that  the  climate 
of  India  menaced  his  life.  Having  resiojned  the  vicariate,  he 
was  advised,  at  the  centenary  of  Hi.  P  iter  in  1867,  to  try  the  cli- 
mate of  the  United  States,  and  sptnt  two  years  at  Charleston  as 
an  active  missionary.  He  attended  the  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore  and  the  Vatican  Council,  and  on  the  20th  of  March, 
1870,  was  elected  to  the  see  of  Savannah.  For  three  years  he  di- 
rected the  diocese,  but,  as  his  former  symptoms  reappeared,  he 
was  compelled,  against  his  will,  to  resign  the  see.  He  was  then 
aent  by  the  Holy  See  to  Canada  to  adjust  some  delicate  ques- 


d6d 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIBRARCHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATES. 


(ions  there,  and  subsequently  to  Malabar,  where  he  obtained  the 
submission  of  the  Chaldean  Patriarch  Auder.  In  1878  'he  was 
appointed  bishop  of  the  united  dioceses  of  Aquino,  Pontecorvo, 
and  Sora ;  here,  having  officiated  as  bishop  in  three  continents,  Dr. 
Persico  labora  as  earnestly  as  ever,  adding  to  his  episcopal  duties 
those  of  consultor  of  the  Propaganda  and  apostolic  visitor  of  the 
ChiDfese  College  in  Naples. 


RT.  REV.  WILLIAM  H.  GROSS,  D.D., 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Sa/vcmnahf 
was  transferred  in  1885  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Oregon. 


RT.  REV.  THOMAS  A.  BECKER,  D.D., 

Sixth  Bishop  of  Sa/oa/nnahf 

was  transfeiTed  to  this  see  from  that  of  Wilmington,  under  which 
a  sketch  of  his  life  will  be  found. 


mOCESE  OF  SCRANTON. 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  0»HARA, 

Mrat  Bishop  of  Scranton, 

The  fii-st  Bishop  of  Scranton,  Right  Rev.  William  O'Hara,  is 
a  native  of  the  County  Derry,  Ireland,  and  came  to  this  country 
with  his  parents  in  I82O.  They  made  Philadelphia  their  home, 
and  sent  their  son  to  a  select  school  *ill  ho  was  ready  to  enter 
Georgetown  College.  From  the  early  age  of  sixteen  he  felt  him- 
self called  to  serve  God  in  his  sanctuary,  and,  having  attracted 
the  notice  of  Bishop  Kenrick,  he  was  sent  to  Rome.  There  he 
remained  eleven  years,  pursuing  a  most  thorough  course  in  the 
Urban  College  of  the  Propaganda.  After  his  ordination  in  1843 
he  was  for  thirteen  years  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church ;  he  was 
also  for  many  y^&rs  rector  and  professor  in  the  theological  semi- 
nary. In  1860  he  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Wood  vicar-general. 
When  the  diocese  of  Scranton  was  set  off,  in  1868,  this  learn- 
ed and  experienced  priest  was  elected  the  first  bishop,  and  was 
consecrated  on  the  12th  of  July.  The  district  placed  under  his 
episcopal  care  comprises  Luzerne,  Lackawanna,  Bradford,  Sus- 
quehanna, Wayne,  Tioga,  Sullivan,  Lycoming,  Pike,  and  Monroe 
counties.  He  found  most  of  the  churches  in  a  very  primitive 
condition,  but  by  his  untiring  zeal  the  diocese  has  attained  a 
flourishing  condition,  with  fine  places  of  worship,  zealous  priests, 
and  large  congregations.  He  found  fifty  churches,  twenty-eight 
priests,  and  one  religious  community,  the  Sisters  of  the  Immacu- 
late Heart  of  Mary.  In  1884  he  could  report  seventy  churches 
with  sixty-six  priests,  and  sixteen  parochial  schools,  Sistere  of 
Mercy  and  Sisters  of  Christian  Charity  having  come  to  aid  in 


870 


THE  OATBOLXO  UIXRAROHT  IH  THS  UKIXBD  8TATI8. 


education.  Bishojp  O'llara  bad  to  contend  Avith  a  long  and 
obstinate  litigation  begun  by  a  priest  whom  he  attempted  to  re- 
move from  a  church  whose  interests  had  been  grossly  neglected 
and  mismanaged.  Though  the  courts  finally  decided  in  the 
bishop's  favor,  it  gave  him  great  anxiety  and  entailed  heavy 
losses. 

In  1891  Bishop  O'Hara  could  report  in  his  diocese  110  priests, 
104  churches  and  86  missions,  22  convents,  9  academies,  28 
parochial  schools,  26  ecclesiastical  students,  9,311  pupils  in  Catho- 
lic schools,  1  orphanage  with  140  orphans,  1  college,  and  a  Catho- 
lic population  of  100,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  SPRINGFIELD. 


RIGHT  REV.  p.  T.  O'REILLY, 

0 

Firat  Bishop  of  Springfield, 

Thk  Right  Rev.  P.  T.  O'Reilly  is  a  descendant  of  the  old 
Breffny  tribe,  and  was  born  in  Cavan,  Ireland,  on  the  24tli  of 
December,  1838.  He  came  to  this  country  wLeu  a  boy,  and,  as 
he  hud  an  uncle  in  Boston,  a  chemist  in  affluent  circumstances, 
he  was  brought  up  in  that  city.  Evincing  a  desire  to  become  a 
priest,  he  wm  sent  to  8t.  Charles'  College,  Maryland,  and  from  it 
passed  in  due  course  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore.  He  was 
ordained  ./riest  in  the  cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Boston,  on 
the  feast  of  the  Assumption  in  the  year  1857,  by  Bishop  Ba- 
con, of  Portland,  who  officiated  in  consequence  of  the  illness  of 
Bishop  Fitzpatrick.  After  spending  five  years  as  assistant  to 
the  Rev.  John  Boyce  at  Worcester,  iiQ  was  appointed  to  organize 
ISt.  Joseph's  parish,  Boston,  of  which  he  became  the  first  pastor, 
and  remained  so  till  January,  1864,  when  he  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed Rev.  Mr.  Boyce  as  pastor  of  St.  John's  Church,  Worcester. 

The  diocese  of  Springfield,  established  June,  1870,  comprises 
the  counties  of  Berkshire,  Franklin,  Hampshire,  Hampden,  and 
Worcester,  and  at  that  time  contained  fifty-four  churches  built 
or  in  course  of  erection,  and  forty  priests,  not  including  the 
Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  attached  to  the  fine  college  of 
the  Holy  Cross  at  Worcester,  There  were  a  few  schools,  direct- 
ed by  Sisters  of  Mercy  and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame„  Rev.  Mr. 
O'Reilly  was  elected  lUshop  of  Springfield  June  28,  1870,  and 
was  consecrated  in  St.  Michael's  Church,  which  became  his  ca- 
thedral, on  the  25th  of  September  by  Archbishop  McCloskey,  of 
New  York.    The  diocese  has  prospered  under  his  prudent  ze&l, 

871 


m 


THB  OATHOUO  HISRABOBT  IK  THE  tJKlTBD  STATES. 


and  at  the  commencement  of  the  year  1885  there  were  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  priests  engaged  in  its  limits,  the  churches 
numbering  ninety  and  the  parochial  schools  twenty-one,  Sisters 
of  St  Joseph,  Sisters  of  St.  Anne,  and  Sisters  of  Charity,  as  well 
as  Gray  Nuns  from  Canada  and  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools, 
cooperating  with  the  clergy 

The  above  numbers  had  increased  in  1891  to  the  following: 
162  priests  and  50  seminarians,  107  churches  and  9  stations,  24 
convents,  1  college,  23  parochial  schools  with  10,000  children  in 
attendance,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  170,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 


m 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  MOORE, 

Second  Bishop  of  St.  Augustine.   . 

John  Moore  was  bom  in  Castletown  Devlin,  County  West- 
meath,  Ireland,  on  the  27tli  of  June,  1835.  Arriving  in  Charles* 
tou,  S.  C,  in  October,  1848,  he  began  his  classical  studies  in 
the  Collegiate  Institute  and  in  the  seminary  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist.  In  July,  1851,  he  was  sent  to  the  college  of  Courbr^e, 
where  he  remained  four  years,  commencing  his  philosophical 
studies.  After  pursuing  a  theological  course  in  the  Urban  Col* 
lege  of  the  Propaganda  he  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  the 
priesthood  by  Mgr.  Luigi  Busso  in  1860.  Returning  to  his  own 
dioces«;,  he  was  for  five  years  assistant  ut  St.  Finbar's  Cathedral. 
Charhston,  witnessing  its  destruction  during  the  war:  he  was 
then  for  twelve  years  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  in  that  city, 
and  for  six  years  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  While  still  pastor 
of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Charleston,  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Moore 
was  appointed  by  the  Holy  See  to  succeed  Dr.  Verot;  he 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  St.  Augustine  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
Lynch  in  St.  John's  Pro-cathedral  on  Sunday,  May  13,  1877, 
the  Right  Rev.  James  Gibbons,  then  Bishop  of  Richmond,  deliv* 
ering  the  sermon.  He  was  duly  installed  in  his  diocese  on  the 
20th.    He  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore, 

Florida  is  the  oldest  State  in  the  Union,  dating  from  its  first 
permanent  settlement,  St.  Augustine  having  been  founded  Sep- 
tember 8,  1565.  The  records  of  the  parish  church,  preserved  in 
Havana  and  Florida,  exist,  and  cover  nearly  three  centuries,  ex- 
tending from  1594  to  the  present  time.  From  the  first  settle- 
ment of  St.  Augustine  there  was  a  parish  church,  besides  various 


d76 


TBB  OATHOLIO  HIBRAROHT  IN  THB  UNITED  STATUS. 


ohapels  in  or  near  the  city,  and  before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century  the  Franciscan  Fathers  established  a  convent  there,  which 
gave  missionaries  to  the  Indian  tribes  from  Albemarle  Sound  to 
Pensacola.  Many  of  the  missionaries  lost  their  lives  at  the 
hands  of  the  Indians  or  the  English  of  the  neighboring  pro- 
vinces. 

The  parishes  and  missions  of  Florida  were  subject  to  the 
bishops  of  Santiago  de  Cuba ;  nor  was  the  supervision  merely 
nominal,  several  of  the  bishops  making  regular  visitations  of 
Florida,  and  not  without  danger,  one  of  them,  while  on  his  way 
to  Florida,  falling  into  the  hands  of  pirates,  from  whom  he 
was  with  difficulty  ransomed.  During  the  last  century  bish- 
ops-auxiliary were  appointed  to  the  Bishop  of  Santiago,  and,  as 
these  were  charged  exclusively  with  the  affairs  of  Florida,  they 
resided  in  St.  Augustine.  The  most  eminent  of  these  was  the 
zet^lous  Bishop  San  Buenaventura  Tejada,  who  established 
schools  in  St.  Augustine,  and,  having  been  translated  to  a  see  in 
Mexico,  died  from  the  hardships  he  underwent  in  making  a  visita- 
tion of  the  missions  in  Texas.  Among  others  who  lived  in  Florida 
as  auxiliary  bishops  were  Dr.  Pedro  Ponze  de  Carrasco,  Dr.  Ricino, 
a  native  of  Havana,  and  Right  Rev.  Cyril  de  Barcelona,  of  the 
Capuchin  Order,  who  became  auxiliar  to  the  Bishop  of  Havana 
when  that  see  was  erected  and  Florida  assigned  to  it.  Florida 
was  again  under  that  jurisdiction  when  it  became  part  of  the 
United  States,  after  having  for  a  time  been  included  in  the  bish- 
opric of  Louisiana.  When  a  bishop  was  placed  in  St.  Augus- 
tine in  our  time,  the  Catholic  property  had  been  almost  all  swept 
away  from  the  Church ;  the  "  Casa  Episcopal,"  the  house  and 
grounds  occupied  and  owned  by  the  auxiliar  bishops,  had  been 
given  by  the  United  Stated  government  to  the  Episcopalians ; 
the  ancient  convent  of  the  Franciscans  is  still  held  by  the  gov- 
ernment as  barracks. 

The  diocese  of  St.  Augustine,  comprising  East,  Middle,  and 
South  Florida,  contained  in  1891  18  priests  and  9  ecclesiastical 
students,  12  churches  and  14  chapels  w-h  31  stations,  10  convents, 
8  academies  and  20  parochial  schools  having  1,480  pupils,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  5,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  PAUL 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  CRETIN, 

Mrat  Bishop  of  St.  Paul. 

The  RigLt  Rev.  Joseph  Cr6tin,  first  Bishop  of  St.  Paul,  was 
born  at  Lyons,  in  Fi'ance,  in  the  year  1800,  and  had  studied  for 
the  priesthood  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  foreign  missions. 
Soon  after  his  ov  ^ination  Bishop  Loras,  of  Dubuque,  appealed  for 
zealous  priests  to  aid  him  to  create  a  Catholicity  in  Iowa,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Cretin  offered  his  services.  Accompanied  by  another 
volunteer,  Bishop  Loras  and  his  young  coadjutor  reached  his  dio- 
cese in  April,  1839.  Rev.  Mr.  Cr6tin  was  at  once  attached  to 
St.  Raphael's  Cathedral,  and  was  soon' appointed  vicar-general  of 
the  diocese,  laboring  zealously  in  attending  distant  and  scattered 
bodies  of  Oatholics.  In  1843  he  began  a  mission  among  the 
Winnebagoes,  and  revived  the  early  missions  among  them  until 
he  was  expelled  in  1848  by  the  United  States,  government,  which 
had  constantly  thwarted  his  Christian  work  of  civilization.  He 
then  resumed  his  duties  at  the  cathedral  of  Dubuque ;  but  when 
the  diocese  of  St.  Paul,  embracing  the  Territory  of  Minnesota, 
was  erected  in  1850,  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Cretin  was  appointed 
bishop.  Having  accepted  the  appointment,  he  visited  France  to 
appeal  to  the  zeal  of  his  countrymen  to  contribute  to  the  arduous 
work  before  him.  He  was  consecrated  at  Belley  January  26, 
1851,  and  set  out  for  his  diocese,  where  he  was  welcomed  by  the 
pioneer  priest.  Rev.  Mr.  Ravoux.  The  first  report  of  the  diocese 
showed  only  seven  churches,  ten  priests,  and  one  school.  The 
bishop  began  a  seminary,  planned  a  cathedral,  opened  schools, 
brought  in  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  who  created  academies,  asylums, 
hospitals,  schools.    The  Brothers  of  the  Holy  Family  were  neit 

877 


m 


378 


TBM  OATHOLIO  HIBBARCHT  IN  IHIU  UNITED  STATB& 


to  aid  him;  but  the  Ben  ictine  pr. j-r  Wittman  founded  at  St. 
Cloud  a  house  to  grow  in  tiuio  to  a  great  abbey  and  college. 
Bishop  Cretin  revivec'  his  old  mission  among  the  Winnebagoes, 
and  recalled  the  Chippe^vas  to  the  faith.  Of  Catholic  emi^nation 
he  was  an  active  and  persistent  advocate,  and  saw  its  beneficial 
results.  Gaug<  I  by  time,  his  administration  was  a  short  one,  but 
by  results,  and  it  w  as  most  successful.  He  died  of  apoplexy 
February  22,  1867. 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  L.  GRACE,  O.S.D., 

Second  Bishop  of  Si.  Paul. 

Thomas  L.  Grace  was  born  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  on 
the  16th  of  November,  1814.  Evincing  in  childhood  a  strong 
inclination  to  minister  at  God's  altar,  he  commenced  his  studies 
in  the  seminary  of  his  native  city  when  he  had  attained  the  age 
of  fifteen.  But  the  next  year  he  entered  the  convent  of  St.  Rose 
in  Kentucky,  assuming  as  a  novice  the  white  habit  of  St.  Domi- 
nic. After  years  of  retirement,  prayer,  and  study  he  was  sent  to 
Rome,  and  for  seven  years  pursued  a  most  thorough  theological 
course  at  the  Minerva.  He  was  ordained  priest  at  Rome  Decem- 
ber 21-,  1839.  Returning  to  this  country  five  years  latei",  he  was 
engaged  in  missionary  duties  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  for 
many  years.  Memphis  was  the  chief  theatre  of  his  labors ;  he 
erected  the  church  of  St  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  one  of  the  finest 
in  that  city,  as  well  as  the  convent  of  St.  Agues  and  an  orphan 
asylum.  During  his  long  pastorship  of  thirteen  years  Father 
Grace  had  endeared  himself  to  all  the  people  of  Memphis,  and 
his  appointment  to  the  see  of  St.  Paul  in  1859  came  with  a  sense 
of  pei'bonal  loss  to  them.  He  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral 
of  St.  Louis  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  on  the  24th  of  July,  1869, 
and  two  days  after  set  out  with  a  delegation  of  the  clergy  of  the 
diocese  who  had  come  to  escort  him  to  St.  Paul,  which  he 
reached  by  steamer,  there  being  no  lines  of  railroad. 

The  labor  before  Bishop  Grace  was  immense,  giving  him  inces- 


Most  Rev.  John  Irei  and,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  St.  Paul,  Minn. 


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DIOOESI  OF  8T.  PAUL. 


379 


sant  occupation,  but,  without  disconragement,  lie  devoted  himself 
with  wonderful  zeal.  Northern  Minnesota  was  set  oil  as  a  yica- 
riate  in  1875,  and  in  that  same  year  the  bishop  obtained  a  coadjutor 
in  the  person  of  the  Right  Rev.  John  Ireland.  Dakota^  which 
had  also  been  subject  to  Bishop  Grace,  was  placed  under  the  care 
of  a  vicar-apostolic  in  187^  Five  years  afterwards  the  diocese 
of  St.  Paul,  thus  curtailed,  contained  one  hundred  and  fifty^three 
pnests  and  more'  than  two  hundred  churches,  with  hospitals,  asy- 
lums, protectories,  academies,  and  schools.  Mere  statistics  give 
little  idea  of  the  real  work  of  a  bishop  in  looking  after  the 
neglected  Catholics,  exciting  faith,  guiding  the  cleigy,  stimu- 
lating them  in  their  arduous  labors,  watching  over  the  rising 
generation.  In  July,  1884,  Bishop  Grace  celebrated  the  silver 
jabilee  of  his  episcopate,  the  city  tendering  him  a  most  heartfelt 
ovation.  Then,  to  the  regret  of  all,  he  resigned  the  see  of  St 
Paul  and  became  titular  Bishop  of  Mennith. 


m 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  IRELAND, 

Third  Bishop  mid  First  Archbishop  of  St  Pcml. 

The  third  Bishop  of  St  Paul,  Right  Rev.  John  Ireland,  was 
born  at  Bumchurcli,  County  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  on  the  11th  of 
September,  1888,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  America  when 
he  was  eleven  years  old.  After  temporary  residence  at  Burling- 
ton, Vermont,  and  Chicago,  Illinois,  his  father,  Richard  Ireland, 
settled  in  St.  Paul  and  became  a  builder.  While  a  pupil  in  the 
cathedral  school  young  Ireland  attracted  the  attention  of  Dr. 
Cretin,  who  discerned  in  the  talented  ""boy  a  vocation  to  the 
priesthood,  lie  was  sent  by  the  bishop  to  Meximeux,  France, 
where  he  went  through  the  Preparatory  Seminary,  and  entered  the 
Grand  Seminary  at  Hy^res  for  his  theological  course.  Returning 
to  Minnesota  in  1861,  he  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Grace  on  the 
21st  of  December.  The  young  priest  was  soon  on  his  way  to  the 
front  as  chaplain  of  the  Fifth  Minnesota  regiment,  and  for  fit 
teen  months  he  served,  fearlessly  confronting  all  dangers,  so  as  to 


880 


THfl  CATHOLIC  HIBBARORT  IK  THB  X7NITBD  STATBS. 


excite  the  admiration  and  reverence  of  those  most  prejudiced 
against  his  faith.  When  his  health  yielded  to  the  constant 
and  laborious  duty  on  the  field,  he  was  recalled  to  St.  Paul  and 
became  pastor  of  the  cathedral.  Here  his  zeal,  activity,  and 
energy  made  him  a  marked  man.  The  building  up  of  the  State 
by  immigration,  the  study  of  its  early  history,  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance, all  found  in  Eim  an  active  advocate,  while  no  one  was 
more  exact  and  devoted  in  his  priestly  duties.  On  the  I'ith  of 
February,  1875,  he  was  appointed,  by  the  Pope,  Bishop  of  Ma- 
ronea  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Nebraska.  To  prevent  his  diocese 
from  losing  so  able  a  man.  Dr.  Grace  went  to  Rome  and  pleaded 
so  successfully  that  the  bishop-elect  was  made  his  coadjutor ;  as 
such  he  was  consecrated  on  the  anniversary  of  his  ordination, 
December  21,  1875.  His  work  as  an  advocate  of  temperance  be- 
came more  general.  He  entered  warmly  into  projects  for  form- 
ing Catholic  colonies  in  Minnesota,  engaging  capitalists  in  the 
East  in  the  good  work,  and  obtaining  most  consoling  results,  so 
that  some  districts  are  p^hnanently  Catholic,  with  schools  under 
Catholic  direction.  It  is  a  sign  of  the  general  appreciation  with 
which  he  is  regarded  that  he  has  been  for  several  years  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Minnesota.  He  attended 
the  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884,  and  on  his  return  to 
his  diocese  presided  in  New  York  at  a  meeting  to  organize  a 
Catholic  'lli^torical  Society  for  the  ^  ted  States.  In  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  Catholic  University  I  jas  also  been  a  most  ac- 
tive worker.  Soon  after  the  la;^'ing  of  the  comer-stone  of  that 
institution  in  Washington,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  erected  a  new 
ecclesiastical  province,  witl^  St.  Paul  as  the  metropolitan  see.  Dr. 
Ireland  then  became  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul  and  received  the 
palliiun  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1888. 

There  were  in  the  archdiocese  of  St.  Paul  in  1891,  the  follow- 
ing:  137  priests  and  51  seminarians,  176  churches,  1  seminary 
and  8  academies,  66  parochial  schools  with  11,000  pupils,  U 
charitable  institutions,  including  3  hospitals  and  3  asylums,  and 
a  Catholic  population  of  203,484. 


DIOCESE  OF  TRENTON.    - 


RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  J.  O'PARRELL^ » 

First  Bishop  of  Irmton. 

MioHAEL  J.  O'Farrell  was  born  in  Limerick,  Ireland,  on  t1i« 
2d  of  December,  1 832,  of  a  family  which  had  given  many  zealous 
priests.  After  preliminary  studies  he  entered  the  college  of  All- 
Hallows  in  1848,  and  during  his  theological  course  proceeded  to 
St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  where  he  completed  his  studies  under  the  able 
disciples  of  Olier.  After  receiving  ordination  in  Ireland  on  the 
18th  of  August,  1855,  he  returned  to  Paris  and  was  received  into 
the  community  of  St.  Sulpice.  On  the  conclusion  of  his  novi- 
tiate he  was  appointed  professor  of  dogmatic  theology  at  Paris, 
and  he  subsequently  held  a  professorship  in  their  seminary  in 
Montreal.  He  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Patnck's  Church  in  that 
city,  and  showed  as  great  zeal  and  ability  in  parochial  work  as 
he  had  displayed  learning  in  the  professor's  chair.  In  July, 
1869,  he  became  assistant  at  St.  Peter's  Church,  New  York,  and 
in  1872  pastor  of  Kondout.  But  when  the  Rev.  William  Quinn 
was  transferred  to  the  cathedral  the  Rev.  Dr.  O'Farrell  became 
pastor  of  New  York's  oldest  church.  During  his  administration 
he  erected  a  noble  school-house,  fitted  with  every  requisite,  and 
was  consoled  by  seeing  it  filled  with  children.  In  1881  the 
Holy  See  divided  the  diocese  of  Newark,  and  fourteen  coun- 
ties of  New  Jersey,  embracing  all  the  seaboard,  were  formed  into 
the  diocese  of  Trenton.  Having  been  elected ,  first  bishop,  Dr. 
O'Farrell  was  consecrated  on  All  Saints'  day  in  St.  Patrick's  Ca- 
thedral, New  York,  by  his  Eminence  Cardinal  McClpskey,  as- 
sisted by  Archbishop  Corrigan  and  Bishop  Loughlin.    He  made 

881 


882 


T^  OATHOLIO  HIBBABOHT  IN  TBB  UNITED  STATBR. 


1)'  J 


t^' 


the  church  of  St:  Mary  his  cathedral,  and  prepared  to  establish 
institutions  to  develop  religion  in  the  southern  part  of  New  Jer- 
sey/ The  progress  did  not  fail  to  excite  hostility,  and  in  1883 
St  John's,  the  oldest  of  the  churches  in  Trenton^  was  set  on  fire. 
Bishop  O'Farrell  has  issued  pastorals  of  remarkable  vigor  and 
ability,  and  has  stimulated  the  erection  of  many  churches  and  in- 
stitutions. He  labored  successfully  to  obtain  for  Catholics  in 
prisons  and  reformatories  a  deliverance  from  the  hoiiible  and 
unchristian  persecution  by  which  they  were  deprived  of  their 
own  worship  and  forced  to  attend  services  which  they  ab- 
horred. He  was  one  of  the  most  learned  and  eloquent  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 

Bishop  O'Farrell,  in  1891,  had  in  his  diocese,  88  priests  and 
1§  ecclesiastical  students,  226  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  various 
religious  orders,  in  6  convents,  87  churches,  40  chapels  and  sta- 
tions, 1  seminary  and  1  college,  7  academies  and  29  parochial 
schools  with  6,981  pupils,  1  orphanage  with  62  orphans,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  100,000. 


Simon 
20, 1T79,  a 
influential 
formed  for 
judgment  I 
for  his  Fird 
was  alread 
corded  son 
ters  of  pri< 
that  grasp 
rapid  prog 
began  the 
in  1803,  tj 
low-studei 

come  a  pi 

Sulpitiani 

the  semir 

Bishop  F 

After  tw 

was  sent 

years  wa 

numbers 

establisl 

cupant. 

ber  38, 


mOCESE  OF  VINCENNES. 


RIGHT  REV.  SIMON  GABRIEL  BRUTfi, 
Mrat  JBUhop  of  Vinoermea. 

Sdcon  William  Gabbiel  BbutA  db  Rbmub  was  bom  Marcli 
20,  1779,  at  Rennes,  France,  where  his  family  had  long  held  an 
influential  position.  Losing  his  father  at  an  early  age,  he  was 
formed  for  the  career  before  him  by  his  mother,  a  woman  of 
judgment  and  piety.  The  famous  Abb6  Carron  prepared  him 
for  his  First  Communion  in  1791,  when  the  terrible  Revolution 
was  already  in  progress,  and  young  Brut6  witnessed  and  re- 
corded some  of  the  most  heartrending  persecutions  and  slaugh- 
ters of  priests  and  religious.  A  diligent  student^  with  a  mind 
that  grasped  at  all  knowledge  and  a  happy  memory,  he  made 
rapid  progress,  and,  escaping  by  address  the  law  of  conscription, 
began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1796,  and  completed  it  at  Paris 
in  1803,  taking  the  highest  prize  over  more  than  a  thousand  fel- 
low-students. But,  with  success  before  him,  he  resolved  to  be- 
come a  priest,  and,  after  being  trained  to  ecclesiastical  life  by  the 
Sulpitians,  was  ordained  in  1808.  Declining  a  professorship  in 
the  seminary  at  Rennes,  and  a  canonry,  he  offered  his  services  to 
Bishop  Flaget  and  came  to  Baltimore  in  the  summer  of  1810. 
After  two  years  spent  as.  professor  in  St  Mary's  Seminary  he 
was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmittsburg,  and  for  many 
years  was  connected  with  that  institution,  training,  under  God, 
numbers  of  excellent  priests.  When  the  see  of  Vincennes  was 
established  in  1834  Dr.  Brut^  was  chosen  to  become  its  first  oc- 
cupant. He  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  ^i  Louis  Octo- 
ber 38,  1834,  and  was  soon  after  installed  by  Bishop  Flaget. 


884 


THE  OATHOMO  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


He  began  his  labors  with  one  priest,  Rev*.  S.  P.  Lalumiere.  Vin. 
cennes  was  originally  a  French  post,  established  about  1730,  and 
had  a  series  of  priests  till  the  overthrow  of  the  French  rule  in 
Canada  and  the  Ameiican  Revolution  isolated  it.  Then  it  had 
received  occasional  visits,  but  the  people  had  lost  much  of  the 
knowledge  of  their  faith  and  their  early  fervor  while  deprived 
of  the  sacraments.  At  other  and  less  important  French  posts  the 
decline  had  been  still  greater.  All  these  Catholics  were  to  be 
visited,  maiiiages  rehabilitated,  baptisms  performed^  the  youth  to 
be  instructed  and  prepared  for  First  Communion  and  Confirmation. 
Illinois  was  subject  to  his  authority,  and  there  a  similar  state  of 
affairs  existed.  Besides  those  of  French  descent,  there  were 
!l^nglish-speaking  immigrants,  more  earnest,  and  bands  of  Indians 
who  still  remembered  the  teachings  of  the  Black  Gowns  of  other 
days.  The  studious  professor,  retained  by  duty  amidst  books  for 
so  many  years,  showed. all  the  fresh  vigor  and  activity  of  a  young 
missionary.  His  visitations  unfolded  to  him  the  condition  of  his 
diocese,  and  the  utter  impossibility  of  finding  within  its  limits 
means  to  meet  its  wants.  A  visit  to  Europe  gained  some  zealous 
priests  and  means  to  establish  a  seminary,  asylum,  and  school  at 
Vincennes,  and  aid  in  erecting  plain  chapels  in  places  where 
they  were  most  needed.  He  was  pastor  of  his  cathedral,  director 
of  his  seminary,  teacher  in  the  school ;  and  this,  with  the  strain 
on  his  system  in  his  episcopal  visits,  soon  told  upon  his  constitu- 
tion. On  his  way  to  the  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1837  he  took 
a  heavy  cold  which  ended  in  consumption ;  but  he  never  thought 
of  rest,  and  continued  his  labors  and  visits,  refusing  all  indul- 
gence, taking  the  worst  for  himself  on  all  occasions.  At  last  he 
yielded  to  the  disease  and  prepared  serenely  to  die,  his  active 
mind  engaged  in  prayer  or  in  thoughts  of  his  flock.  After  re- 
ceiving the  Viaticum  he  directed  the  Commendation  of  a  De- 
parting Soul  to  be  recited,  and  surrendered  his  soul  to  his  Maker 
on  the  26th  of  June,  1839. 


BIGHT 


The  sec 

Brittany, 
priest  who 
good  clergj 
the  magistrl 
he  resolved| 
though  he 
accepted  oi 
signed.    H< 
at  Paris,  MJ 
bishop,  wh< 
to  be  his  ^ 
Hailandi^r< 
priests  and 
began  his  li 
to  Europe 
gaged  at  Pi 
own  appoii 
consecratec 
'  1839,  by  E 
tMn  needc 
plate  for 
Holy  Crofi 
bor  in  his 
his  clergy 
was  a  mai 
popular  V 
in  1845, 1 
gory  XV 
ed  to  it. 
pletely,! 
and  was 


DIOOilBB  OF  YINOBNHIB. 


885 


RIGHT  REV.   OELESTINE  RENt:  LAWRENCE   G.    DB 

LA  ILVILANDlliRE, 

Second  Biehop  of  VincermeB, 

Thb  second  Bishop  of  Vincennes  was  born  at  Combourg,  in 
Brittany,  May  2,  1798,  and  waa  baptized  the  same  day  by  a 
priest  who  was  concealed  in  the  house.  He  was  educated  by  a 
good  clergyman  at  Rennes,  and  studied  law  to  fit  himself  for 
the  magistracy.  At  a  mission  given  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Faith 
he  resolved,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  to  renounce  the  world,  al- 
though he  had  been  appointed  to  a  judicial  position,  which  he 
accepted  only  in  obedience  to  his  father's  command,  but  soon  re- 
signed. He  entered  the  seminary  at  Rennes  and  was  ordained 
at  Paris,  May  28,  1825.  His  career  won  him  the  esteem  of  his 
bishop,  who,  when  Dr.  Brute  asked  him  to  name  a  priest  worthy 
to  be  his  vicar-general  and  coadjutor,  selected  the  Abb^  de  la 
Hailandi^re.  After  aiding  Bishop  Brut6  to  obtain  some  good 
priests  and  candidates  he  came  to  America  with  him  in  1836,  and 
began  his  labors  in  Indiana.  Two  years  subsequently  he  was  sent 
to  Europe  in  the  interest  of  the  diocese,  and  while  busily  en- 
gaged at  Paris  received  information  of  Dr.  Brute's  death  and  his 
own  appointment  as  Bishop  of  Axiern  an  coadjutor.  He  was 
consecrated  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Paris,  August  18, 
1839,  by  Bishop  Forbin  Janson,  and  used  every  exertion  to  ob* 
tain  needed  aid  for  his  diocese.  He  seiit  over  vestments  and 
plate  for  churches,  Eudists  to  found  a  college.  Brothers  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  Sisters  of  Providence.  Then  he  came  himself  to  la- 
bor in  his  diocese.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  hold  a  retreat  for 
his  clergy,  which  was  followed  by  a  diocesan  synod  in  1844.  He 
was  a  man  of  projects  and  action,  and  his  energy  made  him  un- 
popular with  some ;  seeing  this,  he  endeavored  to  resign  his  see 
in  1845,  but  on  visiting  Rome  was  so  encouraged  by  Pope  Gre- 
gory XVI.  that  he  resumed  his  labors  for  his  diocese  and  return- 
ed to  it.  But  the  troubles  had  not  ceased.  Discouraged  com- 
pletely, he  again  urged  the  Holy  Father  to  a(;cept  his  resignation, 
and  was  permitted  in  1847  to  lay  down  the  burden  that  had  boi 


886 


TBI  OATHOUO  HIUUSOHT  IN  THB  UNITID  ITATia 


oome  too  heavy.  He  died  on  an  estate  at  Triandin  belonging  to 
the  family,  May  1,  1882.  By  his  own  desire  his  remains  we^e 
brought  to  the  diocese  he  had  loved  so  well,  and  laid  beside  the 
bodies  of  the  other  bishops  of  Vinpennes  who  had  gone  to  their 
rmt. 


BIGHT  REV.  JOHN  STEPHEN  BAZIN, 
l%ird  Bishop  of  Vmomnes. 

JdHN  SrBPHBif  Bazin  was  bom  in  the  diocese  of  Lyons  in 
1796,  and  entering  the  priesthood  in  France,  came  to  the  dio- 
cese of  Mobile  as  a  missionary  in  1880.  The  tiity  of  Mobile 
was  the  theatre  of  his  labors  for  seventeen  years.  He  exercised 
the  ministry  with  great  zeal,  and  devoted  himself  especially  to 
the  education  and  spiritual  instruction  of  the  young.  He  was 
made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  by  Bishop  Portier,  who  sent 
him  in  1846  to  France  to  obtain  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
to  assume  the  direction  of  the  college  at  Spring  Hill.  On  the 
recommendation  of  the  Sixth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  he 
was  appointed  Bishop  of  Vincennes.  He  was  consecrated  in  the 
Vincennes  cathedral  on  the  24th  of  October,  1847,  by  Bishop 
Portier,  of  Mobile.  He  issued  a  pastoral  letter,  in  which  he  said 
to  his  clergy :  "  Having  been  inured  for  many  years  to  the  la- 
bors of  a  missionary  life,  we  feel  ready,  in  spite  of  our  advanced 
age,  to  share  with  you  all  the  hardships  of  the  ministry.  We 
are  ambitious  of  no  distinction.  We  expect  to  find  in  each  of 
you  a  friend." 

But  he  was  almost  immediately  stricken  down  by  illness,  and 
expired  on  the  23d  of  April,  1848. 


DIOOBBB  OF  VINCBNSrBa. 


M 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  M.  MAURICE  DE  LONG  D'AUSfeAC 

DE  SAINT-PALAIS, 

Fourth  Bishop  of  Vinoennes, 


Maubiob  db  Saiht-Palais,  of  an  old  family  of  knightly  fame, 
was  bom  at  La  Salvetat,  in  the  diocese  of  Montpelier,  November 
16,  1811.  He  made  a  brilliant  courae  of  studies,  and  was  about 
to  enter  on  a  career  of  honors  when  the  insecurity  of  human 
grandeur  made  him  resolve  to  serve  a  Master  who  knows  no 
vicissituda  He  was  ordained  priest  in  his  twenty-fifth  year  by 
Archbishop  de  Quelen,  of  Paris,  and,  won  by  the  virtues  and 
sanctity  of  Bishop  Brut6,  offered  his  services  to  him.  He  came 
to  Vincenned  in  1886  and  was  sent  to  a  new  district,  where  he 
built  St.  Mary's  Church,  attending  stations  in  two  adjacent 
counties,  fertile  in  resources,  and  neglecting  none,  German  or  In- 
dian, in  his  district.  At  Chicago,  though  malcontents  burned  his 
wretched  shanty,  he  built  another  St.  Mary's  Church.  Logans- 
port  was  his  next  mission,  then  Madison.  Bishop  Bazin  during 
his  brief  administration  made  the  Abb^  de  Saint-Palais  his 
vicar-general,  and  on  his  death-bed  constituted  him  administrator 
of  the  diocese.  He  was  soon  after  elected  bishop,  and  was  con- 
secrated by  Bishop  Miles,  of  Nashville,  on  the  14th  of  January, 
1849.  He  began  with  35  priests,  50  churches,  and  80,000  souls ; 
but  what  his  predecessors  had  merely  sketched  out  Bishop  de 
Saint-Palais  effected  in  his  long  and  able  episcopate  of  twenty- 
eight  years.  He  left  151  churches,  117  priests,  90,000  souls,  an 
abbey  of  Fathers  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  2  convents  of 
Reformed  and  1  of  Conventual  Franciscans,  Brothers  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  Benedictine  nuns,  Ursulines,  Sisters 
of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph. 

On  the  morning  of  June  28,  1877,  while  at  St.  Mary's  of  the 
Woods,  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  and  all  efforts  to  save  him 
failed.    He  prepared  calmly  for  death,  and,  holding  his  rosaiy  in 


M 


888 


TBI  OATHOUO  HIBRAROHT  IN  TBI  UNITED  8TATI8. 


r'..*^ 


the  left  hand  he  was  Rtill  able  to  uie,  expired  peacefully  in  the 
afternoon.  Hia  body  was  removed  to  Vincennee  and  laid  beside 
Buhope  Brut^  and  Bazin. 

RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  SILAS  CHATARD, 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Vinoennss, 

FRANas  Silas  Chatard  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  Decem- 
ber Id,  1834,  his  grandfather,  an  able  physician,  having  been  one 
of  the  many  French  residents  who  escaped  the  hands  of  the 
negroes  and  made  a  home  in  the  United  States.  His  father  was 
also  an  able  and  successful  physician,  eminence  in  the  profession 
seeming  hereditaiy.  The  future*  bishop  was  educated  at  Mount 
St.  Mary's,  where  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1858.  Adopting 
the  profession  in  which  so  many  of  his  family  excelled,  he  be- 
came a  physician,  but  in  1857  resolved  to  study  for  the  priest- 
hood. Having  been  accepted  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  he  was 
sent  to  the  Urban  College,  and  after  a  full  six  years'  course  won 
the  cap  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  August,  1868.  Three  months 
-afterwards  he  was  appointed  vice-rector  of  the  American  College 
at  Rome,  and  on  the  consecration  of  Dr.  McOloskey  as  Bishop  of 
Louisville  Dr.  Chatard  became  rector,  and  for  ten  years  presided 
over  that  institution,  rendering  great  service  not  only  to  those 
under  his  immediate  charge,  but  to  the  American  bishops  during 
the  Vatican  Council.  Pope  Pius  IX.  valued  his  services  to  re- 
ligion so  highly  that  he  presented  to  him  a  gold  medal  of  ex- 
quisite workmanship.  In  consequence  of  failing  health  he  visited 
the  United  States  in  1878  to  collect  for  the  American  College, 
and  soon  after  his  return  to  Rome  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Vin- 
cennes.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  12th  day  of  May,  1878,  and, 
repairing  to  his  diocese,  made  Indianapolis  his  residence,  retain- 
ing, however,  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Vincennes.  He  soon  after 
held  the  second  Diocesan  Synod,  and  a  third  in  November,  1880. 
He  also  took  part  in  the  Fourth  Council  of  Cincinnati,  and  in  the 
Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884. 

His  earnest  labors  are  evinced,  in  part,  by  the  following  sum- 
mary for  1891:  priests,  150;  churches,  157;  and  28  chapels  and 
stations;  15  academies,  74  parochial  schools  with  14,000  pupils, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  84,884. 


DIOCESE  OF  WHEELINO. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  KAIN, 

JSeoofid  Bishop  qf  Wheeling. 

John  J.  Kkim  was  born  in  Maitinsburg,  Berkeley  Co.,  West 
Virginia,  on  the  Slat  of  May,  1841,  the  only  son  of  Jeremiah  and 
Ellen  Murphy  Kain,  who  emigrated  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Macroom,  in  the  county  of  Cork,  Ireland,  and  married  in  this 
country.  Their  son  first  attended  the  academy  then  directed  by 
the  present  Bishop  of  Wilmington,  and,  seeking  to  serve  God  in 
his  sanctuary,  obtained  admission  to  the  Preparatory  Seminary  of 
St.  Charles,  where,  after  a  five  yeara'  course,  he  was  graduated  in 
1862.  His  philosophical  and  theological  studies  he  pursued  in 
St.  Maiy^s  College,  Baltimore ;  and  he  was  ordained  by  Arch* 
bishop  Spalding  on  the  2d  of  July,  1866.  His  field  of  priestly 
labor  embraced  the  valley  of  Virginia  from  the  Potomac  to  Mount 
Jackson,  and  centred  at  Harper^s  Ferry.  Its  extent  may  be  seen 
in  the  fact  that  for  a  considerable  time  he  had  charge  of  the 
Catholics  living  in  eight  counties  of  West  Virginia  and  four  in 
Virginia.  He  then  obtained  an  assistant  to  share  his  arduous 
labora.  During  his  administration  of  this  large  district  he  repair* 
ed  the  churches  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  Martinsburg,  which  had 
been  greatly  injured  during  the  Civil  War,  and  rebuilt  those 
which  had  been  destroyed  at  Winchester  and  Berkeley  Springs. 
On  the  2l8t  of  February,  1875,  this  laborious  priest  was  elected 
Bishop  of  Wheeling,  and  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Bayley 
on  the  23d  of  May,  his  aged  mother,  who  had  attained  the  age  of 
fourscore,  witnessing  the  exaltation  of  her  son. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1 885  the  diocese  of  Wheeling 
contained  thirty-four  priests,  who  attended  sixty-two  churches, 
eight  chapels,  and  forty  stations.  The  Catholic  white  population 
was  estimated  at  about  twenty  thousand.  There  were  thiiiiy- 
four  academies  and  schools,  a  hospital  and  asylum  under  the  care 
of  Visitation  nuns  and  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph. 

There  were,  at  the  beginning  of  1891,  in  this  diocese,  35  priests, 
5  seminarians,  64  churches  and  48  chapels  and  stations,  7  acade- 
mies and  14  parochial  schools  with  1,800  pupils,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  20,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  WILMINGTON. 


Rir'HT  REV.  THOMAS  A.  BECKER, 

^irst  Bishop  of  Wihimgton, 

The  future  Catholic  Bishop  of  Wilmington  was  bom  in 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  of  Protestant  parents,  December  20, 
1 832.  After  spending  some  tiiue  in  the  Allegheny  Institute  he 
entered  the  Western  University,  and  completed  his  studies  at  the 
University  of  Virginia. 

Ilis  mind  turned  to  the  great  religious  question,  and,  corre- 
sponding to  the  grace  of  God,  he  was  received  into  the  Church 
by  Bishop  McGill.  He  went  to  Rome  in  1854  to  study  for  the 
priesthood  in  the  Urban  College  of  the  Propaganda,  and  after 
receiving  the  doctorate  in  theology  was  ordained  by  Cardinal 
Patrizi  in  the  Basilica  of  St.  John  Lateran  on  the  18th  of  June, 
•4859. 

On  his  return  to  Virginia  he  was  assigned  to  the  mission  em- 
bracing Martinsburg,  Winchester,  Berkeley  Springs,  and  the  ad- 
jacent counties.  These  were  attended  until  the  church  of  Mar- 
tinsburg was  seized  by  the  United  States  military  authorities, 
who  converted  it  into  ban-acks.  He  was  then  sent  to  Baltimore, 
whore  Archbishop  Kenrick  selected  him  as  one  of  the  faculty  of 
Mount  St.  Mary's.  Under  Archbishop  Spalding  he  was  c  ic  of 
the  clergy  of  the  Baltimore  cathedral.  Previous  to  the  assem- 
bling of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  the  Rev.  Mr.  Becker  was  one 
of  the  theologians  engaged  in  preparing  the  matters  for  the  ac- 
tion of  the  prelates,  and  during  the  sessions  of  the  council  he  was 
one  of  the  secretaries. 

His  ability  and  learning  displayed  in  such  varied  offices 
marked  him  as  one  to  be  placed  in  an  important  rank.    On  the 


DIOCESE  Of  WtLMmOTON. 


add 


erection  of  the  see  of  Wilmington  he  was  elected  bishop,  and  re- 
ceived consecration  at  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Spalding  on  the 
16th  of  August,  1868. 

The  diocese  of  Wilmington,  over  which  he  was  called  to  pre* 
side,  embraces  ihe  State  of  Delaware  with  the  counties  of  Mary> 
land  and  Virginia  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Chesapeake.  It 
contains  about  fifteen  thousand  Catholics,  who  have  twenty-nine 
churches,  attended  by  twenty-four  priests. 

On  the  26th  of  March,  1886,  Bishop  Becker  was  transferred  to 
the  see  of  Savannah,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  promotion 
of  Dr.  Gross  to  the  archiepisoopal  chair  of  Oregon  City. 


'^4 


\ 


DIOCESE  OF  DENVER. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  PROJECTUS  MACHEBCEUF,  D.D., 
Mrst  Vica^ApostoUc  of  Colorado  and  First  Bishop  of  Denver. 

Joseph  Pbojectus  Machebceuf  was  born  at  Riom,  in  the 
diocese  of  Clermont,  France,  on  the  1 1th  of  August,  1812,  and 
was  in  childhood  a  pupil  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools ; 
after  being  graduated  in  the  college  of  his  native  city  he  entered 
the  Sulpitian  seminary  at  Montferran,  where  h<)  mastered  phi- 
losophy,  theology,  and  other  branches  of  ecclesiastical  learning. 
After  receiving  ordination  in  the  Advent  of  1836,  he  was  employed 
in  the  ministry  in  France  for  three  years,  but,  preferring  to  become 
a  missionary,  volunteered  with  Rev.  Mr.  Lamy,  now  Archbishop 
of  Santa  F^,  to  accompany  Bishop  Purcell  to  his  diocese.  On  the 
1st  of  January,  1840,  he  was  appointed  pastor  at  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
where  French  priests  had  reared  a  chapel  in  the  last  century. 
Here  he  remained  eleven  years,  developing  the  church  and  in. 
sdtutions.  Having  been  invited  to  New  Mexico  by  Bishop 
Lamy,  then  vicar-apostolic  of  that  Territory,  he  reached  it  by  a 
laborious  route  through  New  Orleans  and  Texas.  As  vicar-gen- 
eral he  labored  earnestly  in  that  old  Catholic  field  till  1860, 
when  Bishop  Lamy  sent  him  to  Colorado,  where  a  new  popu- 
lation was  gathering.  Beginning  as  vicar-general  for  that  Terri- 
tory, Rev.  Mr.  Machebceuf  may  be  said  to  have  created  all  that 
the  Church  has  there  to-day.  He  built  the  first  church  in  Denver, 
and  attended  Catholics  wherever  they  gathered,  till  other  priests 
came  to  assume  local  direction  of  the  churches  that  grew  up.  So 
rapidly  did  Catholicity  develop  in  the  Territory  that  in  1868  there 
were  seventeen  churches  or  chapels.    Denver  had  a  convent  of 

804 


D100B8E  OF  DXNVBB. 


895 


Sisten  <>  iiOretto«  with  an  academy  and  a  school  for  boyi.  Pope 
Pius  IX.  in  that  year  constituted  the  vicariate-apostolio  of 
Colorado,  extending  over  the  Territory  of  that  name,  and  also 
over  Utah.  Bight  Rev.  Dr.  Machcboeuf,  having  been  appointed 
titular  Bishop  of  Epiphania,  was  consecrated  August  16,  1808,  in 
St.  Peter*s  Cathedral.  He  has  lived  to  see  Denver  a  city  of  sev- 
enty-five thousand  inhabitants,  with  six  Catholic  churches,  with 
convents,  academy,  hospital,  asylum.  House  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, and  several  parochial  schools.  There  are  fifty-one  priests  in 
the  vicariate,  officiating  in  ninety-six  churches  and  chapels,  and 
the  Catholic  population  in  1884  was  nearly  fifty  thousand.  He 
died  July  9,  1889. 


■'ii'i'f 


/¥      ' 


DIOCESE  OF  SIOUX  FALLS,  S.  D. 

RIGHT  REV.  MARTIN  MARTY,  p.8.B., 

First  Vtcar'Apoatolio  of  Dakota  and  Mr  at  Bishop  of  8iova  FaUs. 

Mabtin  Mabtt  was  bom  at  Schwyz,  in  Switzerland,  on  tlie 
12th  of  January,  1834,  and,  entering  in  youth  the  great  Benedic- 
tine  abbey  of  Einsiedlen,  made  his  profession  on  the  20th  of 
May,  1865.  The  young  monk  had  already  pursued  his  theo- 
logical studies  with  such  zeal  and  talent  that  the  next  year 
he  was  ordained,  on  the  14th  of  September.  A  colony  of  monks 
from  Einsiedlen  was  sent  to  Indiana  in  1854,  and  founded  St. 
Meinrad's.  Dom  Marly  arrived  in  1860  to  share  the  labors  of 
the  sons  of  St.  Benedict,  and  when  the  priory  was  established 
five  years  later  he  was  made  the  first  superior.  The  little  com. 
munity  prospered,  receiving  postulants  who  persevered,  and  the 
mission  wo^k  increasing.  Pope 'Pius  IX.  in  1870  erected  St. 
Meinrad's  into  an  abbey,  constitutiug  the  Fathers  connected  with 
it  into  the  "  Helveto- American  Congregation,"  and  Right  Hev. 
Martin  Marty  was  made  mitred  abbot.  The  comer-stone  of  a 
new  monastery  was  laid  May  22,  1872.  Abbot  Marty  presided 
for  several  years,  perfecting  the  institutions  under  his  care,  and 
extending  the  missions,  erecting  churches,  and  fostering  educa- 
tion. But  he  had  always  desired  to  undertake  missions  among 
the  Indians,  and  at  last  he  went  with  some  Fathers  to  Dakota. 
The  work  there  gave  such  promising  hopes  that  he  resigned  his 
dignity  of  abbot  to  devote  himself  to  it.  In  1879  the  Territory 
of  Dakota  was  formed  into  a  vicariate-apostolic  and  confided  to 
the  care  of  the  zealous  Benedictine,  who  was  consecrated  Bishop 
of  Tiberias  on  the  1st  of  Febraai/,  1880.  "When  Bishop  Marty 
attended  the  Plenary  Council,  four  years  later,  there  were  nearly 
ninety  churches  and  fifty  priests  in  his  vicariate,  with  seven  In- 
dian missions  attended  by  his  clergy,  Benedictine,  Ursuline,  and 
Presentation  nuns,  with  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  and  Youville 
Bisters  of  Charity  aiding  in  the  good  work. 

The  diocese  of  Sioux  Falls,  comprising  the  State  of  South 
Pakota^  was  established  in  1889, 


*f 


■'jr',    ■>*  ■:   ■- .   ."  ■■ 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  IDAHO. 


RIGHT  REV.  LOUIS  LOOTENS, 

:  J  Mrat  Viowr-Apostolic. 

Louis  Lootbits  was  bom  at  Bruges,  in  Belgium,  about  1825. 
and  after  being  ordained  in  Europe,  about  1851,  came  to  the 
California  mission  some  six  or  seven  years  afterwards.  His  first 
labors  were  at  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Sonora;  but  in  1869  he 
assumed  charge  of  St.  Vincent's  Church  at  Petaluma  and  St. 
Raphael's  Church  in  Marin  County.  Here  he  labored  for  several 
years  with  great  zeal,  erecting  a  neat  church  at  San  Rafael,  and 
enlarging  the  academy  buildings  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dol- 
lars. ,.rr 

When  it  was  determined  to  erect  the  Territories  of  Idaho  and 
Montana  into  a  vicariate-apostolic.  Rev.  Mr.  Lootens  was  elected 
on  the  3d  of  March,  1868,  and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Cas- 
tabala  on  the  9th  of  August.  It  was  within  the  limits  of  the 
vicariate  thus  created  that  Father  P.  J.  De  Smet,  S.J.,  had  erect- 
ed the  cross  at  the  Flathead  village  in  1840.  At  this  time  there 
were  missions  among  the  Flatheads,  Pend-d'oreilles,  Coeur  d' Al- 
ines, and  Nez  Percys,  with  schools  and  hospitals  under  Sisters  of 
Providence,  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names. 
There  were  also  churches  at  Idaho  City,  Placeryille,  Centreville, 
Pioneer,  and  Silver  City.  Under  the  impulse  of  Bishop  Lootens 
churches  rose  at  Granite  and  Deer  Lodge.  The  growth  of  the 
vicariate  was,  however,  slow,  and  the  difficulties  veiy  great,  while 
the  resources  were  most  precarious.  ^  The  vicar-apostolic  labored 
for  some  yeprs  till  his  severe  mission  duties  incapacitated  him, 

m 


400 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  he  resigned  his  office  July  19,  1876,  and  it  was  more  than 
eight  years  before  a  successor  was  appointed,  the  vicariate  being 
administered  by  the  archbishops  of  Oregon.  Bishop  Lootens 
has  since  lived  in  truly  apostolic  poverty — a  poor  return  for  the 
sealous  labors  of  his  early  manhood  on  the  American  missions. 


RIGHT  REV.  A.  J.  GLORIEUX, 

Second  Vicar'Apoatolio,  >i 

A.  J.  GjiORiEiTX  was  born  on  the  first  of  February,  1844,  at  Dot- 
tignies,  in  the  Belgian  province  of  West  Flanders,  being  the  son 
of  Auguste  and  Lucy  (Vanderghinste)  Glorieux.  After  a  college 
course  of  six  years  at  Courtrai  he  entered  the  American  College 
at  Louvain  to  study  for  the  priesthood,  with  the  view  of  devot- 
ing himself  to  the  missions  in  this  country.  On  completing  his 
divinity  studies  he  was  ordained  in  Mechlin  by  His  Eminence 
Engelbert  Cardinal  Sterckx  on  the  17th  of  August,  1867.  Before 
the  close  of  the  year  he  was  in  Oregon  to  begin  the  mission  work. 
He  was  first  appointed  to  Roseburg,  in  Douglas  County,  attend- 
ing several  dependent  stations.  From  this  charge  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  .Oregon  City  and  then  to  St.  Paul,  in  French  prairie, 
the  cradle  of  Catholicity  in  Oregon.  In  1871  he  was  made  presi- 
dent of  St.  Michael's  College,  Portland,  and  discharged  the  duties 
of  his '  position  so  ably  that  in  1884  he  was  appointed  vicar- 
apostolic  of  Idaho,  the  Catholic  interests  in  that  Territory  having 
since  the  retirement  .of  Bishop  Lootens  been  under  the  care  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Oregon  as  administrator.  The  total  Catholic 
population  in  1884  was  estimated  at  2,300,  eight  hundred  being 
Nez  Perc6  and  Coeur  d'Al^ne  Indians.  Bishop  Glorieux  was 
consecrated  in  Baltimore,  in  April,  1885. 


VICARIATE-APOSTOUG  OF  NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 


RIGHT  REV.  RUPERT  SEIDENBU8H,  O.8.B., 

First  Vioar-Apo8tolio, 

RuPEBT  Seidenbush  was  bom  on  the  SOtli  of  October,  1880, 
at  Munich,  in  Bavaria,  and  came  to  America  in  1851.  On  the 
6th  of  January  in  the  following  year  he  made  his  profession  as  a 
monk  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  in  St.  Vincent's  Abbey,  "West- 
moreland County,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  ordained  priest  on  the 
22d  of  June,  1853.  He  was  employed  on  missionary  duty  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  and 
when  the  monastery  of  St.  Louis  on  the  Lake,  now  called  St 
John's,  was  erected  into  an  abbey  in  1867  he  was  appointed 
first  abbot.  While  at  the  head  of  that  religious  house  he  was 
chosen  to  organize  the  newly-created  vicariate-apostolic  of  North- 
em  Minnesota,  and  was  consecrated  titular  Bishop  of  Halia 
on  the  80th  of  May,  1876.  Under  his  care  religion  has  pro- 
gressed. Northem  Minnesota,  with  a  Catholic  population  of 
about  82,000  Catholics,  had  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1885  sixiy 
priests,  eighty-six  churches  and  chapels,  an  abbey,  eight  con- 
vents, a  college,  an  academy,  and  several  schools,  as  well  as  In- 
dian missions. 


m 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  ARIZONA. 


RIGHT  REV.  P.  BOURGADE,  D.D. 

fiiSHOP  BouROADE  AS  second  vicar-apostolic  of  Arizona  now 
directs  the  Church  in  the  district  first  evangelized  by  the  famous 
German  Jesuit  Klihn,  and  other  Fathers  of  his  order,  whose  labor 
the  sons  of  St.  Francis  continued.  He  was  born  in  the  Department 
of  Puyde-D6me,  France,  October  17,  1845,  and  after  proceediug 
from  the  school  of  the  Christian  Brothel's  entered  the  College  of 
Billom.  There  the  young  man  felt  called  to  the  pnesthood,  and, 
entering  the  Grand  Skmirtaire^  was  trained  for  the  awful  respon- 
sibility of  the  ministry  by  the  Sulpitians.  As  his  fifth  year  of 
severe  study  was  di'awing  to  a  close,  the  present  Archbishop  Sal- 
pointe  of  Santa  F6,  who  had  just  been  appointed  vicar-apostolic 
of  Arizona,  visited  France  to  receive  episcopal  consecration,  and 
appeal  to  the  candidates  for  the  priesthood  for  volunteers  to  aid 
him  in  the  work  to  which  he  had  been  assigned,  there  being  only 
two  priests  in  his  district  j  \  s^-    ' 

Young  Bourgade  at  once  felt  impelled  to  go,  his  confessor 
approved  his  inclination,  and,  having  already  received  deacon's 
orders,  he  set  out  with  Bishop  Salpointe,  and  reached  Tucson  in 
June,  1870. 

Having  been  oinlained  priest  on  the  last  day  of  November,  he 
began  his  mission  work  at  Yuma,  in  May,  1870,  but  in  the  summer 
of  1873  his  health  was  so  shattered  that  he  returned  to  France  to 
recruit.  In  1 876  he  was  again  in  the  vicariate,  and  was  assigned 
by  the  bishop  to  the  mission  of  San  Elzearib,  Texas,  and  after 
six  years'  hard  labor  there  was  sent  to  Silver  City,  Colorado,  the 
vicariate  of  Arizona  comprising  not  only  the  Territory  of  that 
name,  but  parts  of  the  adjacent  State  and  Territory. 

While  here  zealously  laboring  for  the  salvation  of  souls  he 
was,  on  the  23d  of  January,  1885,  appointed  Vicar-x\postolic  of 
Arizona,  and  was  consecrated  titular  Bishop  of  Taumaco  by 
Archbishop  Lamy,  in  the  cathedral  at  Santa  F6,  May  1,  1885. 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  NORTH  CAROUNA. 


RIGHT  REV.  LEO  HAID,  O.8.B., 

Vica/r-Apoatolio  of  North  QwoUiia. 

The  Right  Rev.  Leo  Haid  was  born  in  Westmoreland  County, 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  15th  of  July,  1849,  and  was  educated  at  the 
Benedictine  Abbey  of  St.  Vincent,  in  that  county.  Feeling  a  vo* 
cation  to  the  religious  life,  he  sought  admission  into  the  ancient 
order,  aud,  after  a  fervent  novitiate,  entered  on  his  studies,  and  was 
ordained  priest  December  21,  1872.  He  was  then  employed  in  the 
Abbey  as  professor  and  director  of  souls,  and  acquired  such 
general  esteem  that  when  the  monastery  in  North  Carolina  was 
erected  into  an  abbey  he  was  elected  to  preside  over  it,  and  was 
consecrated  Abbot  in  the  cathedral  of  Charleston  on  the  26th  of 
November,  1885. 

As  superior  of  the  religious  house  and  a  zealous  missionary  in 
North  Carolina,  he  displayed  so  much  prudence  and  zeal  that  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  elected  him  to  fill  the  pasition  of  Vicar-Apostolic 
of  North  Carolina. 

This  vicariate,  at  the  present  time  (18^1),  coiRtains  15  priests 
and  10  seminarianSf  24  churches  and  28  chapels  and  stations,  1 
seminary,  1  college,  2  academies  and  13  parochial  schools,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  3,000. 


VICAMATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  UTAH. 


RIGHT  REV.  LAURENCE  SCANLAN,  D.D. 

The  progress  of  the  Church  in  the  Territory  of  Utah  amid  the 
Mormons,  where  no  Protestunt  denomination  seemed  able  to  do  the 
least  thing  to  stem  the  prevailing  vices,  is  one  of  the  most  I'emark- 
able  events  in  the  history  of  Catholicity  in  the  United  States.  Its 
growth  is  due  mainly  to  the  first  vicar-apostolic  of  that  Territory. 

Laurence  Scanlan,  who  was  born  in  the  County  Tipperary,  Ire- 
land, in  1848,  after  pursuing  classical  studies  at  Thurles,  entered 
All-Hallows,  the  great  missionary  college  in  Ireland,  in  1868.  He 
was  ordained  in  1868  for  the  diocese  of  San  Francisco,  and  at  once 
placed  himself  at  the  disposal  of  Archbishop  Alemany.  He  was 
made  assistant  at  St.  Fatrick^s  Church,  San  Francisco.  The  finit 
mission  assigned  him  was  the  mining  town  of  Pioche,  in  Nevada, 
where  he  began  his  work  in  1871,  and  succeeded  in  erecting  a  neat 
little  church.  Two  years  afterwards  he  was  sent  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
where  the  few  Catholics  had  raised  a  small  church,  but  not  without 
incurring  heavy  debt.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Scanlan  set  to  work  with 
energy ;  the  debt  was  soon  cleared,  although  his  parish  was  the  Ter- 
ritory, and  he  was  almost  constantly  travelling  on  horseback,  seek- 
ing out  the  scattered  Catholics.  Then  he  obtained  ground  at  Salt 
Lake  City  for  an  educational  establishment,  and  by  the  close  of 
1875  had  a  fine  edifice,  in  which  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
opened  St.  Mary's  Academy,  and  these  religious  soon  established  a 
hospital  Then  under  his  impulse  other  churches  arose — St.  Jo- 
seph's, at  Ogden,  in  1878,  with  its  academy;  St.  Patrick's,  at 
'Frisco,  in  the  following  year ;  then  St.  John's,  at  Silver  Reef.  A 
few  years  later  Park  City  had  its  Church  of  the  Assumption.  Silver 
Reef  soon  had  a  hospital  under  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.  A 
college,  under  the  name  of  All-Hallows,  was  erected  by  him  at  Salt 
Lake  City  in  1886. 

The  Territory  of  Utah  had  been  placed  only  for  a  season  under 
the  care  of  the  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco,  and  it  had  now  be- 


YIOABUTE-APOSTOUO  OF  UTAH. 


406 


come  evident  tliat  it  could  be  formed  in  a  separate  ecclesiastical 
jariBdiction,  and  Providence  seems  to  have  directed  the  choice  of 
the  vicar-apostolic  The  unassuming  priest  who  had  accomplished 
go  much  and  won  the  general  esteem  of  all  classes  was  selected  for 
the  Vicariate- Apostolic  of  Utah,  which  had  been  erected  by  Pope 
Leo  Xin.  on  the  22d  of  November,  1886.  He  was  consecrated  on 
the  29th  of  June,  1887,  Bishop  of  Lavanden.  The  vicariate  con 
fided  to  him  embraces  not  only  the  Territory  of  Utah,  but  also  the 
counties  of  Elko,  Lander,  White  Pine,  Nye,  Eureka,  and  Lincoln 
in  the  State  of  Nevada.  It  then  contained  eleven  churches,  a  col* 
lege,  two  academies,  five  schools,  and  two  hospitals. 

The  summary  for  this  Vicariate- Apostolic  for  1891  shows  a 
rapid  and  healthful  growth :  14  priests,  20  churches  and  19  chap- 
els and  stations,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  nearly  8,000. 


;*" 


■  ^>,  '-.-••  i- ' 


V  V  *'•''"*■ /(V 


DIOCESE  OF  SYRACUSE. 


RIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  A.  LUDDEN.  D.D., 

Mrst  BUhop  of  Syracuse, 

In  the  memory  of  many,  New  York  State  and  northern  "Tew 
Jersey  formed  a  diocese ;  but  as  churches  and  congregations  tspi  ang 
up,  one  diocese  after  another  was  set  off — Albany  and  Buffalo  in 
1847;  Brooklyn  and  Newark  in  1858;  Rochester  in  1868;  Og- 
densburg  in  1872.  In  1887  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  divide  the 
diocese  of  Albany ;  and  the  counties  of  Broome,  Chenango,  Coi*t- 
land,  Madison,  Oneida,  Onondaga,  and  Oswego  were  erected  into  a 
diocese.  Strangely  enough,  nearly  a  century  before  there  had  been 
a  curious  scheme  to  have  thn  Oneida  country  erected  into  a  bishop- 
ric The  new  diocese  is  one  of  importance,  containing  seventy- 
three  churches  and  seven  ty-soven  priests.  As  its  bishop  the  Sove- 
reign Pontiff  selected  u  priest  of  great  experience,  who  had  for 
several  years  been  vicar-general  of  Albany. 

The  Right  Rev.  Patrick  A.  Ludden  was  bom  of  a  pious  family 
near  Castlebar,  in  the  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  in  the  year  1886. 
His  eai'ly  studies  were  pursued  in  the  academy  of  his  native  town, 
but,  seeking  to  devote  his  life  to  the  service  of  the  Church  in  this 
country,  the  year  1860  saw  him  entering  the  College  of  Mouf'^al, 
where  he  made  his  course  of  philosophy  un  V;  the  ^resent  Bishop 
of  Trenton,  Dr.  O'Farrell.  He  then  entered  the  Great  or  Theolo- 
gical Seminary,  where  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice  have  trained  so 
many  to  serve  at  the  altar.  He  was  ordained  priest  on  the  21st  of 
May,  i864,  by  the  saintly  Bishop  Bourget.  On  reaching  Albany 
he  w/ts  iippoi"  ied  by  Bishop  McCloskey  assistant  to  Rev.  J.  J. 
Conroy  at  St.  Joseph's  Church,  but  was  soon  transfen-ed  to  the 
cathedral.  On  the  accession  of  Dr.  Conroy  to  the  see  of  Albany 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Ludden  was  selected  as  cbaucellor  and  secretary  of 

400 


DIOOMI  OP  BTBAOUra. 


407 


the  diocese.  In  October,  1869,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ludden  accompanied 
bJB  bishop  to  Rome,  and  remained  there  till  the  seMiona  of  the 
Council  of  the  Vaticau  were  terminated.  When  Rev.  Mr.  Wad- 
haniB  was  appoint*  '1  Bishop  of  Ogdensburg,  in  1872,  the  Rev. 
Patrick  A.  liudden  became  rector  of  the  cathedral,  and  was  shortly 
after  made  vicar-general.  After  sixteen  yeara'  labor  in  Albany, 
where  his  energy  and  zeal  had  been  displayed,  he  became  rector  of 
St.  Peter^s  Church  in  Troy,  and  was  still  directing  that  parish  when 
he  was  elected  Bishop  of  Syracuse  by  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XHL, 
being  the  choice  alike  of  bisho{)s  and  clergy.  He  was  consecrated 
in  the  Church  of  the  Assumption,  in  Syracuse,  on  the  first  day  of 
May,  1887,  by  His  Grace  Archbishop  Corrigan,  of  New  York,  as- 
sisted by  the  venerable  Bishops  Loughlin,  of  Brooklyn,  and  Mc- 
Neimy,  of  Albany,  the  sermon  being  delivered  by  his  former  pro- 
fessor. Right  Rev.  Michael  J.  O'Farrell,  of  Trenton ;  ten  archbishops 
and  bishops  from  Canada,  New  York,  New  Hampshire,  Massachu* 
setts,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio  adding  lus- 
tre to  the  ceremony  by  their  presence  in  the  sanctuary.  One  of  the 
first  steps  of  Bishop  Ludden  was  to  hold  a  synod  and  adopt  regu- 
lations for  the  diocese  confided  to  his  charge. 

This  diocese  showed  the  effect  o.  the  earnest  labor  and  zeal  of 
Bishop  Ludden  in  the  following  summary  ''or  1801:  76  priests, 
80  churches,  62  chapels  and  stations,  10  academies,  15  parochial 
schools  with  4,001  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  100,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  WICHITA. 


■'y;t'    ■■.; 


y.,-- .  :■'• 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  O'REILLEY, 

Biahqp-Elect. 


The  diocese  of  Leavenworth  had  increased  so  much  in  popu- 
latioii  that  in  1887  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  Leo  XIIL,  erected  two 
new  episcopal  sees  in  the  State  of  Kansas,  that  of  Conc(  raia  in  the 
northwest,  and  Wichita  in  the  south.  To  the  diocese  <  t  Wichita 
were  assigned  the  following  counties  •  Greely,  Wichita,  Scott,  Lane, 
Ness,  Rush,  Barton,  Rice,  McPherson,  Hamilton,  Finney,  Seward, 
Hodgeman,  Ford,  Pawnee,  Edwards,  Comanche,  Stafford,  Pratt, 
Barber,  Reno,  Kingman,  Harper,  Harvey,  Sedgwick,  Sumner,  Stan- 
ton, Gray,  Meade,  Stevens,  Grant,  Morton,  Haskel,  Clarke,  Kiowa, 
Kearney,  and  Garfield.  «  ,. 

The  choice  for  the  first  bishop  of  the  new  see  fell  on  the  Rev. 
James  O'Reilley,  an  active  and  energetic  priest.  He  was  born  not 
far  from  Cavan,  Ireland,  where  his  parents  were  substantial  far. 
mers.  Coming  in  boyhood  to  the  United  States,  he  evinced  a 
vocation  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and,  persevering,  pursued  his 
course  of  theology  in  the  Salesianum  at  Milwaukee.  He  was  o^ 
dained  priest  by  Bishop  Fink,  of  Leavenworth,  in  1874,  and  sta- 
tioned at  Irish  Creek.  The  bishop,  however,  soon  called  him  to 
Leavenworth,  making  him  assistant  at  the  cathedral,  and  confiding 
to  him  the  charge  of  Fort  Leavenworth  and  Kickapoo.  Never 
sparing  himself,  the  Rev.  Mr.  O'Reilley  labored  with  so  much 
zeal  and  earnestness  that  his  health  failed,  and  he  went  to  Europe 
in  1881,  visiting  the  Eternal  City.  Returning  to  the  diocese,  he 
took  charge  of  the  Church  of  the  Assumption  at  Topeka  in  March, 
1882.  Here  he  went  to  work  with  his  wonted  energy,  acquired 
property  for  two  new  churches,  of  which  he  saw  the  necessity,  and 
built  a  parochial  residence. 


DIOOESE  OV  WICHITA. 


409 


On  the  erection  of  the  see  of  Wichita  he  was  appointed  the 
first  bishop  on  the  6th  of  July,  1887,  but  before  the  bulls  for  his 
consecration  arrived  his  health  again  gave  way,  and  he  expired  on 
the  26th  day  in  the  same  month  in  which  he  was  appointed. 


RIGHT  REV.  X  X  HENNESSY,  D.D.,    - 
^^'^^:    ;    "■    Mrat  Bishop  of  Wichita.       ^  - 

On  the  demise  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  James  O'Reilley,  unconse- 
crated,  it  became  necessary  to  appoint  an  administrator  till  a 
bishop  was  elected.  The  organization  of  the  new  diocese  thus 
devolved  on  Very  Rev.  M.  J.  Casey,  who  was  made  admin- 
istrator on  the  15th  of  October. 

.In  the  summer  of  1888  His  Holiness,  Leo  XIII.,  elected  to 
the  see  of  Wichita  the  Rev.  J.  J,  Hennessy,  a  priest  of  the 
diocese  of  St.  Louis.  He  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  came  to  this 
country  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  two  years  and  lost  his 
father  in  early  life.  He  was  educated  in  the  'College  of  the 
Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  on  CeiTe  Street,  St.  Louis,  and, 
after  commencing  his  classical  studies  there,  proce*^ed  to  Cape 
Girardeau,  where  he  completed  his  course  of  philosophy  and 
theology.  He  was  ordained  at  St.  John's  Church,  St.  Louis.  He 
soon  after  became  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception, at  Iron  Mountain,  where  he  remained  until  1880,  when  he 
returned  to  St.  Louis  and  became  pastor  of  the  Cathedral,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  retained  till  his  elevation  to  the  Episcopate.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  schools,  and  was  especially  instrumental  in 
establishing  the  Reform  School  at  Glencoe,  editing  a  little  journal 
called  The  Homeless  Boy.  The  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his 
brother-priests  was  seen  in  his  choice  as  Treasurer  of  the  Clerical 
Mutual  Aid  Society,  and  his  appointment  as  Secretary  of  the  St. 
Louis  Orphans'  Board.  Dr.  Hennessy  is  a  man  of  great  and 
varied  learning,  an  able  writer,  and  well  fitted  by  his  piety, 
urbanity,  and  skill  in  the  management  of  affairs  to  build  up  the 
new  diocese. 


,■=•-  <*-,  \ 


,,!■.(■ 


DIOCESE  OF  DENVER. 

(Su  v.  A.  OF  Colorado,  p.  894.) 


■-^<   ,^ 


:  \ 


RIGHT  REV.  NICHOLAS  C.  MATZ,  1>.D, 


CoadjutoT'Biahop  of  Denver. 


^ 


Oatholioitt  had  been  built  up  by  Bishop  Machebceuf  in  Col 
orado, and  in  1887  the  see  of  Denver  was  erected;  but  it  was 
deemed  wise  to  give  him  a  coadjutor,  as  he  desired.  The  choice 
fell  on  the  Rev.  Nicholas  C.  Matz,  a  young  and  energetic  priest, 
well  fitted  to  aid  the  founder  of  Catholicity  in  Colorado  and  con- 
tinue his  work.  The  Rev.  Nicholas  C.  Matz  was  born  at 
Miinster,  in  Alsace  Lorraine,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1860,  and  in  his 
fifteenth  year  was  admitted  into  the  Preparatory  Seminary  at 
Finstingen.  Here  he  began  his  classical  course ;  but  as  he  looked 
upon  this  country  as  the  field  where  Providence  wished  him  to 
labor,  he  came  over  in  1868  and  entered  the  Seminary  of  St. 
Mary's  of  the  West  at  Cincinnati,  where  he  attracted  attention  by 
pious  and  studious  habits.  Having  been  accepted  by  Bishop 
Machebceuf,  he  went  to  Denver  at  the  close  of  his  studies,  and  was 
ordained  priest  in  the  cathedral  of  that  city  on  Trinity  Sunday, 
1874.  Three  years'  service  in  the  cathedral,  under  the  eyes  of  his 
bishop,  convinced  Dr.  Machebceuf  of  his  zeal  and  ability,  and  the 
parish  of  Georgetown  was  confided  to  him.  Here  he  erected  a 
church,  school,  and  hospital,  and  won  golden  opinions  from  all.  In 
1885  he  took  charge  of  St.  Anne's  Church,  East  Denver ;  and 
from  this  position  he  was  recalled  to  the  cathedral  by  his  ap- 
pointment as  coadjutor,  "  His  piety  and  prudence,  energy  and 
learning,  admirably  fit  him  for  the  episcopal  dignity."  During  his 
pastorship  of  St.  Anne's  the  church  was  burned,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Matz 
was  laboring  to  repair  the  disaster  when  he  was  made  coadjutor. 
He  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  at  Denver  on  the  28th  of  Oo. 
tober,  1887,  by  Ayc^bishop  Salpointe,  of  ^^nt^  ^6, 


In  the  co( 

tory  saw  Cat! 

arrived  when 

city,  and  giv 

which  only  tl 

in  the  year  < 

into  a  dioces( 

fixed  at  Che; 

sessing  a  fine 

and  a  paroch: 

Sovereign  Pc 

energetic  pri^ 

May  5, 1845 

parents,  whc 

received  his 

entered  the 

the  house  of 

ed  as  a  stud 

after  a  thor 

by  Cardina 

On  his 

Mary's  Chi 

1878,  he  \ 

energy  anc 

confiding  t 

dent  abilit 

tant  dutiei 

erected  th 


DIOCESE  OF  CHEYENNE. 


RIGHT  REV.  MAURICE  F.  BURKE,  D.D., 

'  Fvrat  Biehop  of  Oheyeftme,     .'         ' 

In  the  constant  and  rapid  growth  of  the  West,  Wyoming  Tern, 
tory  saw  Catholic  churches  springing  up,  and  in  1887  the  time  had 
arrived  when  a  bishop  was  needed  to  organize  the  work  of  Catholi- 
city, and  give  that  energy  to  the  creation  of  public  institutions 
which  only  the  presence  of  a  bishop  can  call  forth.  Pope  Leo  Xlll., 
in  the  year  of  his  sacerdotal  jubilee,  erected  Wyoming  Territory 
into  a  diocese  on  the  9th  of  August,  1887.  The  episcopal  see  was 
fixed  at  Cheyenne,  in  Laramie  County,  a  growing  city  already  pos- 
sessing a  fine  church,  an  academy  of  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Child  Jesus, 
and  a  parochial  school.  To  guide  the  new  flock  thus  selected  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  elected  the  Rev.  Maurice  F.  Burke,  an  active  and 
energetic  priest  of  the  diocese  of  Chicago.  He  was  born  in  Ireland, 
May  5, 1845,  but  when  a  child  was  brought  to  this  country  by  his 
parents,  who  fixed  their  home  in  Chicago.  There  young  Maurice 
received  his  rudimentary  education,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
entered  the  university  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake.  He  had  chosen 
the  house  of  the  Lord  for  his  inheritance,  and,  having  been  accept- 
ed as  a  student,  was  sent  to  the  American  College  at  Rome,  where, 
after  a  thorough  course  extending  over  nine  years,  he  was  ordained 
by  Cardinal  Patrizi  on  the  22d  of  May,  1875. 

On  his  return  to  his  diocese  he  was  assigned  to  duty  in  St. 
Mary's  Church,  Chicago,  as  assistant  priest.  On  the  24th  of  July, 
1878,  he  was  appointed  to  St.  Mary's  parish,  Joliet,  and  by  his 
energy  and  zeal  erected  a  very  fine  church  and  parochial  schools, 
confiding  the  care  of  the  young  to  the  Sisters  of  Loretto.  The  evi- 
dent ability  of  devoted  priest  marked  him  as  one  to  whom  impor- 
tant duties  would  be  confided.  When  the  diocese  of  Cheyenne  was 
erected  the  choice  fell  upon  him,  and  he  was  consecrated  bitbop  on 

'    m 


412 


THB  OATHOLIO  HIEBABOHT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  28tli  of  October,  1887,  at  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Name, 
Chicago,  by  Archbishop  Feehan,  assisted  by  Bishops  McCloskey, 
of  Louisville,  and  Cosgrove,  of  Davenport.  His  diocese  is  one  iu 
which  preparation  is  to.be  made  for  an  incoming  population;  it 
contains  now  about  4,500  white  and  3,500  Indian  Catholics,  at- 
tended by  (1891)  9  priests,  with  13  churches  and  chapels;  also 
43  missions,  1  academy,  1  Indian  school  and  2  parochial  schools, 
with  680  students  in  all. 


-\- 


V,* 


VS-jf 


/ 


M:,-:  ■,, 


\  • 


DIOCESE  OF  UNCOIN. 


WGHT   BEV.  THOMAS   BONACtJM, 

Mrat  Bisliop  of  Imcoln, 

The  diocese  of  Omaha,  on  the  erection  of  the  see,  embiiiaced  the 
State  of  Nebraska  and  the  Territory  of  Wyoming.  In  1887  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  not  only  detached  Wyoming, 
which  became  a  separate  diocese,  but  also  divided  Nebraska,  erect- 
ing a  see  at  Lincoln,  the  capital  of  the  State,  on  the  2d  of  August 
To  the  new  diocese,  which  comprises  all  south  of  the  Platte  Eiver, 
he  appointed  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bonacum,  bom  near  Thurles,  in  the 
County  Tipperary,  Ireland.  While  still  an  infant  his  parents  came 
to  America  and  settled  in  St.  Louis,  where  their  son  grew  up.  As 
he  evinced  a  desire  to  become  a  priest,  he  was  sent  to  the  Salesia- 
num,  near  Milwaukee,  and  in  that  institution  and  the  Lazarist  Sem* 
inary  at  Cape  Girardeau  he  made  his  course  of  study.  He  was 
ordained  priest  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  St.*  Louis,  by  Right  Rev. 
Joseph  Melcher,  first  Bishop  of  Green  Bay,  on  the  18th  of  Jun^ 
1870.  He  at  once  entered  on  the  active  work  of  the  ministry  as 
assistant  at  St.  Joseph's  Church,  Edina. 

Desirous,  however,  of  perfecting  his  knowledge  of  theological 
sciences,  he  went  to  Europe  and  followed  the  lectures  at  the  Uni- 
rersity  of  Wiirzburg.  With  his  mind  stored  with  sound  learning, 
he  returned  with  fresh  vigor  to  his  priestly  labors  at  St.  Stephen's 
Church,  Indian  Creek ;  St.  Peter's,  RoUa,  and  St.  Peter's,  Kirkwood ; 
and  being  appointed  pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Holy  Name,  St 
Louis,  showed  great  ability.  He  was  theologian  to  Archbishop 
Kenrick  at  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  His  sound 
learning,  executive  ability,  piety,  and  zeal  had  already  induced  his 
being  proposed  for  the  see  of  Belleville,  Illinois,  but  he  was  ap 
pointed  to  the  see  of  Lincoln  and  consecrated  on  the  80th  of 
November,  1887. 

.  ■  .  :'-  ■■■:■■■■  418  :..:J>:.:[i^-  .■:'■.-....■■/ 


DIOCESE  OF  CONCORDIA. 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  SCANNELL,  D.D., 
Mrat  Bishop  of  Concordia  and  Second  Bishop  of  Omaha. 

When  Catholicity  had  bo  spread  through  the  State  of  Kansas 
in  its  days  of  peace  as  to  number  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
churches,  attended  by  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  priests,  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  Leo  XIII,  determined  to  divide  the  diocese  of 
Leavenworth.  The  counties  of  Cloud,  Republic,  Ottawa,  Saline, 
Jewell,  Mitchell,  Lincoln,  Ellsworth,  Smith,  Osbom,  Phillips, 
Rooks,  Ellis,  Norton,  Graham,  Trego,  Decatur,  Sheridan,  Gove, 
Rawlins,  Thomas,  Logan,  Cheyenne,  Sherman,  and  Wallace,  all  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  Stat^  were  formed  into  the  new  dio- 
cese of  Concordia.  As  its  bishop  was  selected  a  priest  who  had 
labored  long  in  the  hard  missions  of  Tennessee,  and  who  had  dis- 
played ability  in  many  positions. 

The  Right  Rev.  Richard  Scannell  was  bom  in  the  parish  of 
Cloyne,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1845,  of  Patrick 
and  Johanna  (Collins)  Scannell.  He  attended  the  school  in  his 
native  place  till  he  waa  fifteen,  when  he  went  to  Midleton,  the 
town  in  which  Curran  was  educated.  Here  he  pursued  a  classical 
course  under  Patrick  Riordan,  a  graduate  of  Trinity  College.  He 
lost  his  mother  when  he  was  only  eight  years  old,  but  the  piety 
inherent  in  the  family  inspired  him  with  the  desire  to  become  a 
priest,  and  he  entered  All  Hallows'  College,  Dublin,  in  1866,  where 
he  had  as  feUow-students  Bishop  Scanlan,  of  Utt.h,  and  Bishop 
O'Reilly,  of  Port  Augustus.  After  passing  through  his  course  of 
philosophy  and  theology,  he  was  ordained  priest  on  the  26th  of 
February,  1871,  by  the  Right  Rev.  John  Francis  Whelan,  Bishop 
of  Aureliopolis  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Bombay.  Having  been 
accepted  for  the  diocese  of  Nashville,  the  young  priest  came  to 
this  couutiy  and  arrived  in  that  city  in  1871.    He  was  assigned 

414 


DIOOBSE  OF  OONOOBDIA. 


416 


to  duty  in  the  cathedral  as  assistant,  and  labored  there  till  1878, 
when  he  was  appointed  rector  of  St.  Columba's  Church  in  East 
Nashville,  taking  the  place  of  the  Rev.  Michael  Meagher,  who  died 
that  year  as  a  martyr  of  charity  while  attending  the  Catholics  at 
Memphis  who  were  dying  of  yellow  fever.  The  next  year  he  was 
recalled  to  Nashville  to  become  rector  of  the  cathedral.  When 
the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Feeban  was  promoted  to  the  see  of  Chicago, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Scannell  was  appointed  administrator,  aede  vacantej 
and  governed  the  diocese  till  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Rade- 
inacher  in  June,  1883.  He  then  visited  Europe  to  recruit  his 
health,  which  was  seriausly  impaired.  In  1885  the  bishop  entrust- 
ed him  with  the  organization  of  a  new  parish  in  West  Nashville. 
Here  the  active  priest  soon  reared  a  fine  church  dedicated  to  St. 
Joseph.  In  August,  1886,  he  became  vicar-general  of  the  diocese. 
This  able,  laborious,  and  experienced  priest  was  elected  in  July, 
1887,  to  the  see  of  Concordia,  and  his  bulls  were  issued  on  the  9th 
of  August.  He  Wds  consecrated  in  the  church  which  he  had 
erected,  on  the  30th  of  November,  by  His  Grace  Archbishop 
Feehan,  assisted  by  Bishop  McCloskey,  of  Louisville,  and  Bishop 
Rademacher,  of  Nashville.  The  sermon  was  pronounced  by  His 
Grace  Archbishop  Elder,  of  Cincinnati.  The  bishops  of  Fort 
Wayne,  Covington,  and  Mobile  were  also  present.  The  diocese 
which  he  proceeded  to  govern  had  a  nucleus  of  about  twenty 
priests  and  thirty  churches. 

He  was  transferred  to  the  diocese  of  Omaha  in  December, 
1890,  leaving  in  his  former  diocese  22  priests  and  10  ecclesiastical 
students,  48  churches  and  27  stations,  10  parochial  schools  with' 
1,000  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  15,000.  -. 


DIOCESE  OF  BELLEVILLE. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JANSSEN,  D.D., 
First  Bialiop  of  Belleville. 

The  progi'esa  of  the  Church  in  Illinois  has  been  so  rapid  that  in 
1887  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  solicit  the  division  of  the  diocese 
of  Alton  into  two  bishopiics.  Accordingly,  at  the  request  of  the 
Congregation  "de  Propaganda  Fide,"  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIII. 
formed  the  southern  portion  with  the  episcopal  see  at  Belleville. 
It  includes  all  the  portion  of  Illinois  lying  south  of  the  boundary 
line  between  St.  Clair  and  Madison  Counties,  extended  across  the 
State. 

To  fill  the  see  thus  erected,  Pope  Leo  XIII.  elected  the  Very 
Rev.  J.  Janssen,  a  priest  of  expeiience  and  ability,  who  had,  since 
the  death  of  Bishop  Baltes,  administered  the  diocese  of  Alton,  and 
who  was  known  ajid  esteemed  by  the  clrrgy  and  people  of  the 
portion  now  formed  into  the  diocese  of  Belleville. 

John  Janssen  was  born  at  Keppelen,  on  the  Rhine,  March  3, 
1835.  His  early  piety  led  him  to  look  forward  to  the  service  of 
God  and  his  Church  as  the  work  of  his  life.  After  pursuing  his 
classical  course  he  was  received  as  a  student  for  the  priesthood  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  diocese  of  Miinster.  In  1858  the 
institution  was  visited  by  Bishop  Juncker,  of  Alton,  who  made 
known  to  the  young  candidates  the  wants  of  his  diocese,  and  espe- 
cially the  want  of  zealous  priests.  Young  Janssen  offered  his  ser- 
vices to  the  American  bishop,  who  readily  accepted  the  earnest 
seminarian.  He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1858,  and  was  or- 
dained on  the  19th  of  November  in  that  year.  His  first  field  of 
labor  was  at  Sprin^^field,  111.,  where  he  showed  himself  an  eanie&t, 
active,  and  devoted  priest.  He  was  next  recalled  to  Alton,  where 
he  became  secretary  to  the  bishop,  and  discharged  the  duties  of 
that  office  during  the  administration  of  Bishop  Juncker,  while 
doing  parochial  work  at  the  cathedral. 

When  Bishop  Baltes  assumed  the  mitre  of  Alton  in  1870  he 
appointed  Rev.  Mr.  Janssen  his  vicar-general,  and  he  continued 

410 


OIOCESB  OF  BBLLEVILLB. 


417 


his  labors  in  the  cathedral  parish,  which  was  h:  special  field,  till 
his  appointment  to  the  see  of  Belleville,  except  a  period  of  two 
years,  1877  to  1879,  when  he  was  pastor  of  St.  Bonifacius'  Church 
at  Quincy. 

He  visited  Europe  in  1880  to  attend  the  golden  wedding  of  his 
parents,  and  in  1888  celebrated  the  silver  jubilee  of  his  own  ordinar 
tioD.  Known  as  a  good  and  laborious  priest,  familiar  with  all  parts 
of  the  diocese  of  Alton,  he  takes  possession  of  the  see  of  Belleville 
with  the  esteem  of  priests  and  people,  and  fully  able  to  build  up 
a  new  diocese. 

This  young  and  promising  diocese  shows  this  gratifying  sum- 
mary for  1891 :  66  priests  and  19  ecclesiastical  students,  87 
churches  and  9  chapels,  55  parochial  schools  with  5,810  pupils, 
8  academies  and  3  hospitals,  1  orphan  asylutu,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  about  50,000. 


;*■ 


%y-. 


^j.. 


Most  Rev.  Frederic  X.  Katzer.  D.D., 
Archbishoo  of  Milwaukee,  Wis. 


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MOST  REV.  FREDERIC  X.  KATZER,  D.D., 
Uiird  Bishop  of  Green  Bay  and  Third  ArohUihop  of  Milwaukee. 

The  successor  of  Bishop  Krautbauer  in  the  see  of  Green  Bay 
was  a  priest  of  learning  and  experience.  Frederic  X.  Katzer 
was  bom  on  the  7th  of  February,  1844,  at  Ebensee,  in  Upper 
Austria,  but  soon  after  his  entrance  into  the  world  his  parents  re> 
moved  to  Theresienthal,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gmtinden,  on  Lake 
Traun.  Here  his  education  began  at  the  "  Principal  School,"  and 
he  soon  entered  on  his  Latin  studies  to  fit  him  for  the  Jesuit 
College  at  Fresenberg.  This  project  was  defeated  for  a  time  by 
need  of  economy  in  the  household,  but  the  earnest,  studious  char- 
acter of  the  boy  won  interest  in  his  advancement.  By  the  aid  of 
Bishop  Rudiger,  of  Linz,  and  the  Empress  Caroline  Augusta,  he  was 
enabled  in  1857  to  appear  among  the  students  in  the  college  near 
Linz,  and  prepare  for  the  ecclesiastical  course  which  was  to  fit 
him  for  a  priestly  career. 

A  letter  of  a  veteran  missionary  in  Minnesota,  describing  his 
labors  among  the  Indians  near  Lake  Superior,  caught  the  eye  of 
the  student  in  one  of  the  Austrian  papers,  and  he  resolved  to  de- 
vote himself  to  the  advancement  of  the  faith  in  this  country. 

Early  in  1864  he  left  Austria  with  Rev.  Mr.  Pierz  and  several 
theological  students.  On  reaching  Minnesota  he  found,  however, 
that  there  were  no  vacancies  in  the  diocese  of  St.  Paul ;  but,  not  dis- 
couraged, proceeded  to  the  Salesianum,  the  great  theological  sem- 
inary in  Wisconsin,  founded  by  the  present  Archbishop,  Heiss^ 


,  ♦ 


»1«K 


u 


SUPPLBMRNT. 


the  rector,  Dr.  Joseph  Salzmann,  being  a  fellow-countryman. 
Here  he  was  received,  and,  completing  his-  theological  course,  was 
ordained  priest  December  21,  1866.  He  was  already  professor  of 
mathematics  in  the  institution,  and  continued  his  course  till  the 
next  year,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  chair  of  dogmatic  theo- 
logy, and  in  1868  he  taught  also  the  class  of  philosophy.  In  this 
laborious  position  he  remained  till  1875,  when  Bishop  Krautbauer 
invited  the  learned  priest  to  accompany  him  to  Green  Bay  as  secre- 
tary of  the  diocese  and  pastor  of  the  cathedral.  His  administrative 
powers  here  appeared,  and  the  studious  professor  became  the  zeal- 
ous priest  in  parochial  work,  and  four  years  later,  on  his  promotion 
to  the  position  of  vicar-general,  won  esteem  throughout  the  diocese. 
He  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  with  his  bishop,  whose 
loss  he  was  soon  called  upon  to  deplore. 

On  the  death  of  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Krautbauer,  Very  Rev.  Mr. 
Katzer  was  appointed  administrator  of  the  diocese,  December  20, 
1885,  his  familiarity  with  its  wants  amply  fitting  him  for  the 
position.  In  May  be  received  notice  that  he  had  been  elected  to 
fill  the  vacant  see,  and  on  the  arrival  of  his  bulls  he  was  conse- 
crated, on  the  21st  of  September,  1886,  in  the  cathedral  of  Green 
Bay,  by  Archbishop  Heiss ;  Bishop  Ireland,  of  St.  Paul,  and  Bishop 
Vertin,  of  Marquette,  being  assistant  prelates.  While  rector  of  the 
cathedral  .parish  he  was  instrumental  in  erecting  a  school-house 
and  a  convent  for  the  sisters,  and  since  his  elevation  to  the  episco- 
pate has  shown  his  zeal  and  determination  to  extend  to  his  flock 
the  benefit  of  a  Christian  education,  and  save  the  children  from  the 
system,  maintained  with  so  much  hypocrisy  and  outlay,  for  de- 
priving young  Catholics  of  the  gift  of  faith.  He  has  had  also  to 
contend  with  unscrupulous  attempts  to  pervert  and  proselytize 
portions  of  his  flock. 

Upon  the  death  of  Most  Rev.  Michael  Heiss,  Archbishop  of 
Milwaukee,  March  26,  1890,  Bishop  Katzer  was  promoted  to  that 
archiepiscopal  see,  and  entered  with  zeal  upon  his  oflSicial  duties. 


RIGHT  REV.  ALFRED  A.  CURTIS,  D.D., 

"    ;  Second  Biafu^  of  Wilmington.      -^     .; 


(See  p.  893.) 


t  ^   .;--.V 


WiiEN  Bishop  Becker  was  transferred  to  the  see  of  Savannah 
tlie  choice  for  his  successor  as  Bishop  of  Wilmington  fell  upon  a 
priest  who,  in  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore,  had  won  respect  and 
esteem. 

The  Right  Rev.  Alfred  A.  Curtis  is  a  native  of  Maryland,  bom 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1831,  in  Somerset  County,  on  the  Eastern  Shore, 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  diocese  over  which  he  now  presides. 
His  education  was  entirely  domestic^  as  he  attended  no  school,  but 
was  instructed  by  his  father,  whose  death,  when  AKred  was  only 
seventeen  years  of  age,  left  him  to  provide  iov  his  mother  and  four 
sisters.  This  he  effected  by  teaching  in  country  schools ;  but  the 
career  in  life  on  which  he  wished  to  enter  was  the  ministry  of  the 
Episcopal  Church — ^his  family  being  of  that  denomination.  He 
was  made  a  deacon  by  Bishop  Whittingham,  at  Cambridge,  Md., 
SepiombiM^  20,  1856^  having  pursued  his  studies  while  guiding 
others.  The  first  appointment  of  this  energetic  young  man  was  St. 
John's  parish,  Worcester,  which  he  characterized  as  the  poorest  of 
poor  places.  After  being  made  a  presbyter  by  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham,  he  was  employed  in  several  parts  of  Maryland ;  he  was  sent 
to  Catoctin,  in  Frederick  County,  and  in  May,  1860,  was  assigned 
to  St.  Luke's  Church,  Baltimore — at  fii'st  to  take  the  place  of  the 
rector,  who  made  a  trip  abroad,  and  subsequently  as  his  assistant. 
In  1862  he  was  in  charge  of  the  church  at  Chestertown,  Kent 
County,  but  at  the  end  of  the  year  he  was  transferred  to  the  rector- 
ship of  Mount  Calvary  Church,  Baltimore.  Here  he  remained  till 
Christmas,  1872,  winning  great  esteem,  but  resigned  his  position, 
"  having  had  more  than  enough  of  the.  Episcopal  Church  and  the 
Episcopal  ministry."  He  then  went  to  England,  ha/ing  promised 
to  6onfer  with  some  eminent  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England 
before  he  decided  to  enter  the  Church  of  Rome,  to  which  aU  his 
convictions  now  directed  him.    His  conferences  with  them  afforded 


lU 


IV 


SUPPLBMENT. 


him  no  ground  to  justify  bis  remaining  in  their  communion.  "  I 
came  to  the  conclusion,"  he  said,  "that  it  must  be  Rome  or 
nothing ! "  He  accordingly  went  to  Birmingham,  and,  after  two 
conferences  with  Doctor  (now  Cardinal)  Newman,  he  made  a 
retreat  in  the  Oratory  over  which  he  presided;  and  on  the  18th  of 
April  the  future  cardinal  received  his  abjuration  of  Anglicanism 
and  his  profession  of  the  Catholic  faith.  He  had  found  rest  for 
his  soul ;  and,  after  some  pedestrian  tours,  made  with  a  light  and 
cheerful  heart,  he  returned  to  Baltimore  and  went  at  once  to  St. 
Mary's  Seminary.  Received  at  first  as  a  guest,  he  became,  in  Sep 
temper,  1872,  a  student,  and  was  ordained  priest  on  the  19th 
of  December,  1874,  by  Archbishop  Bayley.  He  was  at  once 
appointed  assistant  to  the  rector  of  the  cathedral,  and  secretary. 
These  positions  he  filled  most  edifyingly  till,  in  1886,  he  was 
selected  to  fill  the  see  of  Wilmington  and  rule  the  Catholic  Church 
on  that  Eastern  Shore  where  he  had  been  bom  and  brought  up. 
He  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  of  November,  1886,  by  Cardinal 
Gibbons,  assisted  by  Bishop  Kain,  of  Wheeling,  and  Bishop  Moore, 
of  St.  Augustine ;  Bishop  Becker  preaching  a  sermon  adapted  to 
the  occasion. 

He  was  soon  installed  in  his  diocese  and  set  to  work  to  guide 
the  growth  of  Catholicity.  His  logical  mind,  his  ability  for  win- 
ning  the  confidence  of  all,  can  haidly  fail  to  give  new  life  to  the 
Church  in  a  diocese  which  embraces  territory  where  Catholicity  has 
never  gained  strengtL 

The  healthful  condition  of  this  diocese  is  evinced  by  the  fol- 
lowing summary  for  1891,  viz.:  23  priests,  29  churches  and  11 
chapels,  2  academies  and  9  parochial  schools  with  1,718  pupils, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  18,000. 


^  '■ . 


.*V\ 


J_JL^=- ^ 


RIGHT  REV.  MATTHEW  HARKINS,  D.D., 


Second  £ia?u>p  of  Providence, 

The  next  to  wear  the  mitre  of  Providence  was  the  Right  Rev. 
Matthew  Harkins.  who  was  bom  in  Boston,  of  Iidsh  parents,  on  the 
1 7th  of  November,  1845.  In  boyhood  he  attended  the  Brimmer 
School,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1862,  ' 
winning  the  Franklin  gold  medal.  His  pious  mind  led  him  to  as- 
pire to  the  priesthood,  ^nd  he  studied  at  Holy  Cross  College  and 
at  the  English  College  at  Douai,  where  he  fitted  himself  to  enter  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Sulpice  at  Paris  for  his  theological  course,  which 
lie  completed  by  a  year  s  study  in  Rome. 

After  his  ordmation  and  return  to  the  United  States  he  was 
appointed  assistant  at  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  in 
Salem,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  six  years,  laboring  earnestly  but 
unobtrusively.  He  then  became  rector  of  St.  Malachy's  Church 
at  Arlington,  which  he  erected,  as  well  as  the  pastoral  residence. 
During  his  eight  years'  charge  of  this  parish  he  displayed  great 
powers  of  administration,  as  he  had  always  shown  learning,  piety, 
and  zeal. 

Archbishop  Williams  then  summoned  him  to  take  the  direc* 
tion  of  the  important  Boston  parish  of  St.  James,  and  he  had  been 
its  able  and  esteemed  rector  for  three  years  when  he  was  elected  to 
fill  the  vacant  see  of  Providence.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  14th 
of  April,  1887,  in  ihe  Cathedra!  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  at  Provi- 
dence,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Williams,  of  Boston,  assisted 
by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishops  O'Reilly,  of  Springfield,  and  McMahon, 
of  Hartford ;  the  Right  Rev.  James  A.  Healy,  Bishdp  of  Portland, 
preaching  the  consecration  sermon. 

There  were  in  the  diocese  of  Providence,  by  the  latest  authen- 
tic returns  (1891),  146  priests  and  30  ecclesiastical  students,  71 
churches  and  22  chapels,  11  academies  and  25  parochial  schools, 
with  12,790  students  in  all ;  2  orphan  asylums  and  1  hospital 
The  Catholic  population  is  estimated  at  150,000, 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  RYAN,  D.D. 

^    ^^  '  Third  Bislwp  of  Altoru  - 

(See  p.  184)    ^  ^'''•''  -  ■"'- '■^■''■■■ 

After  the  death  of  Bishop  Baltes,  the  diocese  of  Alton  waa 
administered  by  the  Very  Rev.  J.  Janssen  till  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff determined  to  di\  ide  it,  leaving  to  Alton  only  the  portion  of 
the  former  bishopric  which  lay  north  of  the  boundary  line  of  St. 
Clair  and  Madison  countries  extending  across  the  State. 

The  Right  Rev.  James  Ryan,  D.D.,  elected  as  the  third  bishop 
of  Alton,  was  born  near  Thurles,  County  of  Tipperary,  Ireland, 
oii  the  17th  of  June,  1848,  His  parents  emigrated  to  this  country 
early  in  1865,  and  settled  in  Louisville,  Ky. ;  but  his  father  died 
soon  after,  leaving  his  widow  to  struggle  in  a  strange  land  to  main- 
tain and  educate  the  future  bishop,  and  a  sister  a  little  older  than 
himself.  In  the  parochial  school  he  attracted  the  attention  of  Dr. 
Martin  John  Spalding,  then  Bishop  of  Louisville,  who  took  the 
boy  into  his  house  and  sent  him  at  the  age  of  fourteen  to  St. 
Thomas's  Seminary,  near  Baixlstown,  an  institution  rich  in  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  holy  and  eminent  men  who  founded  and  directed 
it,  imbuing  the  students  even  to  our  time  with  an  excellent  eccle- 
siastical spirit.  Here  he  acquired  during  a  six  years'  coui-se  a 
knowledge  of  the  classics  and  of  philosophy  under  Rev.  Dr.  Chani- 
bige  and  Professore  Chazal,  Martin,  Russell,  and  Eugene  Crane. 
After  a  divinity  course  at  St.  Joseph's  and  Preston  Park  Semi- 
raries  under  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Viala,  Defraine,  Harnist,  and  Very 
Rev.  George  McCloskey,  he  was  ordained  priest  by  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  McCloskey,  in  his  cathedral  at  Louisville,  on  the  24th  of 
December,  1871,  the  present  Bishop  of  Peoria  preaching  on  the 
occasion.  The  young  priest  was  initiated  into  parochial  work  at 
St.  Thomas's  as  assistant  to  Rev.  Mr.  Lacoste,  but  at  Easter  in  the 
next  year  the  bishop  confided  to  him  the  care  of  St.  Martin's 
Church,  in  Meade  County,  with  the  outlying  missions  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's, in  Hardin  County,  and  St.  Mary's,  in  Bullitt  County.  There 
was  no  residence  for  a  priest  at  any  of  these  churches,  and  he  set 


SUPPLBMBNT. 


VU 


to  work  to  erect  a  suitable  dwelling  near  St.  Martin's.  He  col- 
lected about  two  thousand  dollars,  and  had  made  arrangements  for 
the  work,  when  in  May,  1873,  he  waa  transferred  to  Elizabethtown, 
where  he  became  rector  of  St.  James's  Church,  with  charge  of  mis- 
sions at  Nolin  and  Colesburg,  in  Hardin  County.  When  summer 
came  he  found  the  cholera  thinning  his  flock,  in  one  instance  car- 
rying off  in  succession  every  member  of  a  Catholic  family.  The 
zealous  priest  was  prompt  and  untiring  in  his  attendance  on  the 
sick. 

The  next  year  Bishop  McCloskey,  yielding  to  his  desire,  ap 
pointed  him  one  of  the  corps  of  professors  at  St.  Joseph's  College, 
Burdstown,  which  was  a  college  for  young  men  and  also  a  Pre- 
paratory Seminary  for  future  ecclesiastics.  The  institution  had 
peculiar  attractions  for  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kyan ;  it  had  been  the  home 
of  Bishops  Flaget,  David,  Kenrick,  and  Spalding,  and  the  nursery 
which  had  supplied  Kentucky  with  devoted  and  earnest  missiona- 
ries. The  grand  old  cathedral  still  stood  as  a  monument  of  the 
glorious  past.  Here  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ryan  spent  four  years  impart 
ing  knowledge  to  others  and  storing  his  mind  with  ecclesiastical 
learning.  When  the  Right  Rev.  John  Lancaster  Spalding  was  ap- 
i  iited  to  the  new  diocese  of  Peoria  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ryan  was  per- 
mitted to  offer  his  services  to  the  head  of  the  new  diocese.  Bishop 
Spalding  placed  him  at  Wataga,  in  Knox  County.  There  he 
found  an  unflnished  frame  church,  but  he  soon  collected  means  to 
complete  it ;  but  in  August  he  was  transferred  to  Danville,  where 
the  Catholic  congregation  had  already  outgrown  the  capacity  of 
the  little  church.  The  active  piiest  soon  secured  a  site  in  the 
centre  of  the  ^.hriving  city,  and  beg  n  to  erect  a  church  worthy  of 
the  faith,  which  he  accomplished  at  a  cost  of  twenty-three  thou- 
sand il -hilars.  By  disposing  of  a  farm  belonging  to  the  congrega- 
tion he  completed  the  church  without  leaving  it  encumbered  by 
any  debt. 

When  La  Salle  and  other  counties  were  added  to  the  diocese  of 
Peoria,  the  Very  Rev.  Dean  Terry,  desiring  to  remain  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Chicago,  resigned  the  rectorship  of  Ottawa.  Bishop  Spald- 
ing appointed  Rev.  John  Ryan  to  succeed  him.  The  new  rector 
found  the  foundation  of  a  new  church  which  the  difficulties  of  the 
timea  had  prevented  from  rising.    In  the  spring  of  1882  the  Rev. 


•  •• 

vm 


STTPPLEMBNT. 


Mr.  Ryan  took  up  the  work  earnestly,  and,  to  his  own  joy  and  that 
of  his  flock,  had  it  solemnly  dedicated  on  Corpus  Christi,  1884,  by 
Bishop  Spalding.  It  had  cost  seventy  thousand  dollars,  but  the 
resources  had  been  so  admirably  managed  that  at  the  dedication 
the  debt  did  not  exceed  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  It  stands  to  at. 
test  the  culture,  generosity,  and  zeal  of  the  Catholic  congregation. 
Under  the  impulse  of  the  rector  their  congregation  of  St.  Colum- 
ba's  have  already  extinguished  half  the  debt. 

This  excellent  priest,  to  whom  the  studious  quiet  has  so  many 
attractions,  but  who  has  led  a  life  of  such  active  usefulness  in  the 
ministry,  brings  to  the  government  of  a  diocese  ripened  expe- 
rience, learning,  prudence,  and  zeal.  , 

The  eloquence  of  the  new  Bishop  of  Alton  is  shown  in  the 
touching  tribute  which  he  paid  to  the  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Spald- 
ing at  the  month's  mind  of  that  young  priest,  whose  tender  piety, 
untiring  zeal  and  activity  in  a  frail  body,  love  of  meditation  and 
study  had  won  for  him  veneration  everywhere,  and  drew  propo- 
sals of  honors  which  he  always  repulsed. 

"  The  Church  of  God ! — the  title  of  his  book ;  it  was  the  life- 
refrain  of  his  heart  in  youth  and  manhood  alike.  Born  in  its 
bosom,  cradled  in  its  atmosphere,  having  in  his  veins  the  blood  of 
sires  who,  through  generations  of  confiscation  and  penal  law,  po- 
litical disability  and  social  ban,  had  upheld  with  firm  hands  the 
banner  of  the  true  religion,  profoundly  read  in  the  history  of  the 
Church,  its  martyrs  and  its  confessors,  its  apostolic  popes  and 
mighty  bishops,  its  missionaries  of  vast  enterprise,  exhaustless 
energy  and  invincible  endurance — his  spirit  had  taken  the  case  of 
its  heroic  mould.  The  chivalry  of  the  old,  old  faith  was  in  his 
heart,  the  cross  of  the  crusaders  on  his  breast. 

"And  as  self-forgetfulness  is  a  characteristic  common  to  all 
such  souls,  so  in  him  there  was  a  disinterestedness  that  was  com- 
plete. Touch  himself,  and  he  scarcely  noticed  it ;  it  was  at  most  a 
passing  annoyance.  Touch  an  interest  that  duty  or  affection  bid 
him  guard,  and  he  was  a  lion  in  the  way,  with  the  lion's  courage 
and  the  lion's  wrath.  Even  in  his  last  illness,  amidst  the  waste  of 
long  sickness,  when  he  had  to  be  helped  from  his  bed  to  his  chair, 
this  nobility  of  spirit  strikingly  appeared.  IJe  had  something  to 
impress  on  a  friend,  and  high  over  the  lassitude  of  mind  and  fee- 


SUPPLEMENT. 


IZ 


bleness  of  frame,  controlling,  dominating  them  then  as  so  often  be- 
fore,  uprose  the  masculine  will.  In  the  firm,  clear  strokes  of  his 
pen  no  trace  of  his  exhausted  condition  was  to  be  detected  by  the 
closest  scrutiny.  He  had  fulfilled  the  saying  of  the  Saviour,  *  He 
that  will  save  his  soul  must  lose  it'  He  so  poured  himself  out  on 
what  he  had  to  do,  so  lost  himself  in  it,  that  his  Avork  became  his 
life.  The  honors  of  the  Church—proflferred  him  more  than  once 
— he  put,  because  of  failing  health,  aside,  only  to  press  with  the 
more  insistance  on  the  duties  which  he  had  in  hand.  Vainly  af- 
fection strove  to  warn  and  hold  him  back ;  again  and  again,  with 
incomplete  recovery,  he  hastened  to  his  post.  The  he£,rt  that  for 
years  had  borne  the  solicitude  of  all  its  people  had  so  gathered  it* 
self  about  his  parish — ^its  expiring  energies  had  so  fixed  themselves 
upo»'  the  completion  of  its  church,  the  cathedral  of  the  diocese, 
that  it  was  only  when  convinced  by  physicians  and  relatives  he 
must  leave  Peoria  and  St.  Mary's  that  the  high,  gallant  spirit 
yielded  at  last,  fill  that  moment  he  had  seemed  to  rally,  but 
then  the  interest  went  out  from  life,  and  he  turned  from  the  world 
to  God." 

Three  years  after  his  consecration  as  bishop  of  the  diocese  of 
Alton  (1891),  there  were  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Bishop  Ryan, 
120  priests  and  15  ecclesiastical  students,  131  churches,  2  colleges, 
5  academies,  2  orphanages  and  57  parochial  schools,  with  a  total 
of  7.000  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  75,000. 


u 


^11 


RIGHT  liEV.  THOMAS  MoGOVERN,  D.D^ 

Second  Bishop  of  Harriaburg. 

Thomas  McGovern  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Swanlinbar,  in 
the  diocese  of  Kilmore,  Ireland,  in  the  year  1832,  but  scarcely  knew 
his  native  land,  his  parents  having  emigrated  to  this  country  in 
the  autumn  of  18S3.  His  father  firet  settled  in  Schuylkill  County, 
Pennsylvania,  but  soon  took  up  a  permanent  residence  in  Bradford 
County.    After  attending  school  near  Overton  young  Thomas,  in 

1863,  entered  Si  Joseph's  College,  in  Susquehanna  County,  where 
the  late  Bishop  Shanahan  was  a  fellow-student.  In  September, 
1855,  he  was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmittsburg,  and 
the  next  year  was  enrolled  among  the  seminarians,  Archbishop 
Elder  being  prefect  and  Archbishop  Corrigan  also  a  seminarian. 
After  spending  a  year  in  St.  Charles  Borromeo's  Seminary  he  was 
ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Wood,  December  27,  1861.  After  a 
few  weeks'  temporary  service  at  St.  Francis'  Church,  Philadelphia, 
he  was  pastor  at  Pottstown  for  a  year,  then  assistant  successively  at 
St.  Michael's  and  St.  Philip's  churches,  Philadelphia.     In  June, 

1864,  he  was  sent  to  Belief onte  to  assume  charge  of  a  parish  em- 
bracing Centre,  Juniata,  and  Mifflin  counties.  During  his  pastor- 
ship he  erected  a  church  at  Snow  Shoe,  the  first  Catholic  place  of 
worehip  in  that  district.  From  December  1,  1870,  to  July,  1873, 
he  was  pastor  of  the  ancient  church  at  York.  Assuming  charge 
of  the  parish  at  Danville,  he  labored  there  energetically  for  several 
years,  till  his  health  was  affected,  and  in  1881  made  a  tour  of 
Europe,  visiting  the  sanctuaries  of  the  Holy  Land. 

On  his  return  he  resumed  his  duties,  and  was  still  quietly  dis- 
charging his  work  as  a  parish  priest  when  he  was  elected  Bishop 
of  Harrisburg. 

He  was  consecrated  at  the  pro- cathedral  in  Harrisburg  on 
Sunday,  March  11,  1888,  by  Right  Rev.  William  O'Hara, 
Bishop  of  Scranton,  assisted  by  Right  Rev.  Richard  Gilmour, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  Cleveland,  and  Right  Rev.  John  A.  Watterson, 


***^ 


DIOOBBB  07  HABKISBUBa 

D.D.,  Bisbop  of  Columbus.  The  Archbisbops  of  New  York  and 
Cincinnati  and  tbe  Coadjutor  Bisbop  of  Pitt8bui*gh  were  also 
present. 

The  diocese  '^^  Harrisburg  at  this  time  contained  fifby-one 
churches  and  as  many  priests,  and  tbe  new  bisbop  during  bis  years 
of  parochial  work  has  become  personally  familiar  with  tbe  wants 
of  the  Church  in  most  of  the  counties  comprising  the  diocese. 

In  tbree  years  these  numbers  had  increased  to  68  priests,  56 
churches  and  26  chapels,  and  there  were  27  parochial  scbools 
with  4,344  pupils,  2  orphan  asylums,  and  a  Catholic  p^>palation 
of  86,430. 


The  f <j 
Most  Bit. 
the  "Great 


« 


The  following  is  a  oopy  of  the  Imprimatur  of  His  Giuos  thb 
Most  Bit.  Abohbishop  or  Nsw  Yobx  authorizing  the  publication  of 
the  "Great  Articles  of  the  Oatholic  Faith.'* 


Nihil  Obstat, 

HENBIOUS  A.  BRANN, 


CENSOR  DEPUTATUa. 


t« 


IMPKEMATUE. 

A         MICHAEL    AUGUSTINUS, 

AFP.  NEO.  EBOKACENSIS, 


GREAT 


FAITI 


'  ^-llf  %  ''"^ 


.4- 


THE 


GREAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


AN   EXPLANATION  OF  THE 


FAITH    ANt)    DOCTRINES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 


mm 


^;rS:-' 


'WiM 


II 


WK  ITi'i   if  |W«,       ,  jiVlniiSL 

1^    ¥,>,  V;:^ 


h: 


m 


■■'     lift''    ^ 


^lju\  JWBl^vi 


"^€3: 


CAl 


rpHERE  I 
-^  salvatio 
sessed  by  al] 
of  the  Gent] 
doctrine:  "^ 
that  Cometh 
them  that  8< 
these  two  p 
rewarding  ol 
wicked,  are  a 
But  many 
are  bound  t 
Unity  and  T 
is  a  Heaven 
disobey  him ; 
the  Blessed  ' 
and  died  to 
dium  by  wl 
through  the  i 
'  Many  of  o 
truths  are  k 
but  experien 
instructions,  i 
distinctly  un< 
np  with  very 


GREAT   ARTICLES 


or  THB 


CATHOLIC   FAITH. 


THERE  are  certain  articles  of  faith  absolatelj  necessary  for 
salvation,  the  explicit  knowledge  of  which  mast  be  pos- 
sessed by  all  in  order  to  obtain  eternal  life.  The  great  apostle 
of  the  Gentiles  puts  in  its  most  succinct  form  this  important 
doctrine:  ''Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God ;  for  he 
that  Cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and  is  a  rewarder  of 
them  that  seek  him." — Heb.  xi.  6.  All  theologians  agree  that 
these  two  points:  a  belief  in  the  existence  of  God,  and  his 
rewarding  of  the  good,  and  consequently  his  punishing  of  the 
wicked,  are  absolutely  essential. 

But  many  hold  that  even  more  is  required,  and  teach  that  all 
are  bound  to  know  and  to  believe  the  existence  of  God,  the 
Unity  and  Trinity  of  God ;  that  sin  displeases  God ;  that  there 
is  a  Heaven  for  those  who  serve  God,  and  a  Hell  for  those  who 
disobey  him ;  that  man  fell  by  sin ;  that  the  second  person  of 
the  Blessed  Trinity  became  man,  was  born  of  a  virgin,  suffered 
and  died  to  redeem  us ;  that  he  established  a  Church,  the  me- 
dium by  which  that  redemption  is  applied  to  souls,  chiefly 
through  the  sacraments  of  Baptism,  Penance,  and  the  Eucharist. 
'  Many  of  our  popular  manuals  assume  that  these  fundamental 
truths  are  known  and  believed,  at  least  by  all  who  can  road ; 
but  experience  shows  that  many  attending  irregularly  religicis 
instructions,  given  in  the  church  or  school,  never  definitely  and 
distinctly  understand  them  in  early  life,  and  consequently  grow 
up  with  very  confused  ideas  and  impressions,  where  it  is  abso* 


9 


OBBAT  ARTICLES  OF  THB  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


m- 


lutely  essential  that  their  faith  should  be  dear,  distinct,  and 
explicit. 

Even  to  those  who  possess  the  raquisite  knowledge  theoreti- 
cally it  will  not  be  amiss  to  meditate  awhile  on  these  great 
tr*  >s,  the  base  and  foundation  of  all  Christian  life,  foi  these 
c  citute  the  seed  sown  by  the  sower  in  the  heart  of  men,  which 
U  Devil  endeavors,  by  all  his  arts,  by  the  influence  of  the 
passions  and  ambitions,  bv  the  cares  of  life,  and  by  the  insidious 
love  of  comfort,  to  root  out  of  the  heart,  lest  men  believing 
should  be  saved,  and  so  escape  his  thraldom. 

"  Forgetfulness  of  God,"  says  Faber,  "  has  been  in  all  ages  the 
grand  evil  of  the  world ;  a  forgetfulness  so  contrary  to  reason,  and 
80  opposed  also  to  the  daily  evidence  of  the  senses,  that  it  can  be 
accounted  for  on  no  other  hypothesis  than  that  of  original  sin  and 
the  mystery  of  the  fall.  This  forgetfulness  of  God  has  been  far 
more  common  than  open  revolt  against  him.  The  last  is  rather 
the  sin  of  angels,  the  first  the  sin  of  men." 

Faith  in  God,  and  a  God  who  is  a  remunerator,  is  of  absolute 
necessity,  for  the  apostle  speaks  of  a  formal  and  explicit  faith  in 
these  two  truths,  since  they  are  formally  and  explicitly  enounced. 
If  after  these  words  there  can  remain  no  doubt  as  to  the  neces- 
sity of  an  explicit  faith  in  a  God,  it  is  the  same  as  to  the  neces- 
sity of  an  explicit  faith  in  a  God  remunerator,  for  the  apostle 
speaks  of  both  in  the  same  terms,  and  embraces  them  in  the  same 
proposition.  Pope  Innocent  XI.  expressly  condemned  a  propo- 
sition doubting  the  necessity  or  a  faith  in  God  as  a  re  warder  of 
the  good  and  punisher  of  the  wicked. 

This  remunerator  here  proposed  as  the  object  of  faith  must  be 
understood  in  the  supernatural  sense.  For  it  is  really  a  super- 
natural recompenp«  that  is  promised  to  all ;  hence  it  is  a  super- 
natural recompense  in  which  all  are  required  to  believe.  It  is 
evident,  moreover,  that  had  we  not  faith  in  a  supernatural  re- 
munerator, no  one  would  think  of  meriting  the  supernatural 
good  things  of  another  life,  for  no  man  seeks  to  obtain  what  he 
does  not  know.  Now,  no  one  can  attain  salvation  without  real 
effort :  eternal  life  is  a  crown  which  must  be  won  by  severe  com- 
bats.   "The  kingdom  of  Heaven  suffer^  :h  violence,  and  the  vio- 


THE  OBJECT  OF  TATTH. 


8 


lent  cany  it  away,^  says  our  Lord,  likeniog  it  to  a  city  to  be 
taken  by  storm.  The  apostle  says  that  God  rewards  those  who 
seek  him.  Without  faith  in  a  supernatural  remunerator,  charity 
toward  God,  in  so  far  as  it  is  our  supernatural  end,  would  have 
no  foundation,  for  we  cannot  love  what  we  do  not  know.  "  He 
who  loveth  not  remaineth  in  death." 

Most  Catholic  theologians  are  of  the  opinion  that  explicit 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Redeemer  of  men,  was  not  absolutely 
necessary  as  a  means  of  salvation  in  the  ages  before  Christianity. 
They  argue  that  the  Saviour  had  beei  announced  to  some  men 
indeed,  but  not  expressly  an<l  sufficiently  to  alL  The  Council 
of  Trent  says  that  Jesus  Christ  was  anncuuccd,  and  promised  to 
many  holy  patriarchs  before  the  law  and  the  time  of  the  law. 
But  as  it  was  not  explicitly  annoasced  to  all,  we  may  conclude, 
it  seems,  that  explicit  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  the  Redeemer  was 
not  absolutely  necessary  for  salvation. 

However,  explicit  faith  in  God  as  a  remunerator  and  author 
of  salvation  implicitly  comprehended  faith  in  a  mediator.  For 
the  faith  by  which  men  conceiyed  of  a  God  as  the  cause  and 
source  of  salvation  and  as  the  liberator  of  the  human  race,  must 
have  included  faith  in  the  means  by  which  God  purposed  to 
work  out  our  redemption.  This  was  no  other  than  the  Incar- 
nation. Hence,  though  in  those  times  they  had  not  an  e?:plicit 
knowledge  of  this  mystery,  they  at  least  believed  it  implicitly, 
when  they  believed  in  a  supernatural  providence.  In  this  sense, 
it  is  true  to  say,  that  all  who  were  saved  were  baved  by  faith  in 
a  mediator.  Not  only  the  sacrifices  of  the  Israelites,  but  even 
those  of  the  pagans,  so  far  as  they  sprang  from  primitive  revela 
tion,  foreshadowed  redemption  through  Christ,  and  it  was  un- 
doubtedly these  sacrifices  that  contributed  to  keep  alive  faith  in 
a  supernatural  providence,  and  through  it,  in  a  redemption  to 
come  as  the  means  of  man's  salvation. 

Some  theologians  think  that  explicit  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
in  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is  absolutely  necessary  for 
salvation  since  Christianity  has  been  announced;  others  deem 
this  not  sufficiently  proved ;  but  all  admit  that  when  there  is  ques- 
tion of  instruction,  it  should  not  be  confined  to  the  two  points. 


OBBAT  ABTIOLBS  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


u  The  Existence  of  God. 

"A  cl«»ar  and  intelligent  view  of  God  is  one  of  the  first  requi- 
sites  for  all  of  us  at  this  day ;  and  it  is  just  this  view  which  the 
Catholic  catechism  gives,  and  which  all  the  wise  men  of  the 
world  seem  unaccountably  to  miss." ' 

"Go  3  unspeakable,"  says  Saint  Augustine ;  "it  is  easier  to 
say  whc  ne  is  not,  than  to  express  what  he  is.  Neither  the  earth 
nor  the  sea  is  God.  Nothing  that  is  found  in  the  sea  or  that 
moves  through  the  air  is  God.  What  shines  in  the  heavens,  the 
stars,  the  sun,  the  moon,  all  this  is  not  God.  Heaven  itself  i8 
not  God.  Would  you  know  what  he  is  ?  He  is  what  eye  hath 
not  seen,  ear  hath  not  heard,  what  it  hath  not  entered  the  heart 
of  man  to  conceive."  The  reason  why  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
express  in  sufficiently  clear  terms  the  idea  of  God  springs  from 
his  infinite  perfection,  which  elevates  him  above  all  that  our  senses 
and  mind  can  grasp.  Yet,  we  say  that  he  is  the  greatest,  the 
most  perfect  being,  and  it  is  as  such  that  we  conceive  him ;  hut 
we  must  beware  of  classing  him,  as  it  were,  with  other  beings. 
In  order  to  give  a  more  precise  idea,  we  cail  God  an  infinitely 
perfect  spirit,  the  Creator  and  the  Sovereign  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth ;  but  in  using  these  terms  we  must  not  liken  aim  to  spirits 
in  whom  thoughts,  sentiments,  and  desires  ari3  subject  to  contin- 
ual changes.  God  is  a  spirit,  but  a  spirit  alone  of  his  kind,  lie 
is  an  infinitely  perfect  spirit,  which  has  existed  without  begin- 
ning, who  is  subject  to  no  kind  of  change,  who  possesses  exi^.t- 
ence  in  himself  with  all  possible  perfections  in  the  highest  degree. 

God  has  manifested  or  revealed  himself  to  man  by  natural 
and  by  supernatural  ways.  God  who  dwelleth  in  light  inaccessi- 
ble, whom  no  man  hath  seen,  or  can  see,  can  be  known  by  us  only 
as  he  reveals  himself  to  us  in  some  manner  natural  or  super- 
natural. 

By  natural  revelation,  we  mean  the  manifestation  of  God  by  na- 
ture, by  natural  forces,  those  belonging  to  the  material  or  the  intel- 
lectual world.  The  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  the  human  soul  with  the 


*  Faber,  Orefitor  and  Creature,  p.  27. 


THB  BZIBTETTOB  OF  OOD. 


thoughts  and  desires  which  it  forms,  are  so  many  Natural  means 
by  which  Ood  manifests  himself  to  our  eyes,  because  the  very 
nature  of  these  beings  compels  us  to  go  back  to  God  as  their 
author. 

By  supernatural  revelation  we  mean  the  manifestation  of  God 
by  particular  acts  or  works,  which  are  extraordinary,  distinct 
from  the  effects  of  nature.  To  this  class  of  revelations  belong 
the  teachings  of  Moses,  of  the  prophets,  and  especl'vlly  of  Jesus 
Christ,  in  regard  to  the  relations  of  man  to  God.  These  teach- 
ingB  have  not  been  acquired  by  man  by  virtue  of  the  faculties  of 
his  nature,  but  by  a  direct  and  immediate  communication  of  God. 

The  revelation  ^  to  the  existence  of  God  was  supernatural 
only  in  its  mode,  since  we  can  be  assured  of  bis  existence  by  nat* 
ural  ways.  The  Council  of  the  Vatican  says  distinctly :  "  If  any 
one  shall  say  that  the  one  and  true  God,  our  Creator  and  Lord, 
cannot  be  certainly  knowu  through  those  things  which  are  made, 
by  the  natural  light  of  human  reason,  let  him  be  anathema.''  ^ 
The  revelation  as  to  the  trinity  of  persons  in  God  is  supernatural 
also  in  its  object,  because  there  is  nothing  in  nature  that  indi- 
cates with  certainty  that  there  are  three  persons  in  God.  St. 
Augustine  lays  down  this  twofold  revelation  in  his  "City  of 
God."  It  is  not  only  the  authority  of  the  divine  books  that  pro- 
clflims  God,  but  everything  that  surrounds  us  and  to  which  we 
belong ;  the  universal  nature  of  things  proclaims  that  they  bad 
a  sovereignly  perfect  Creator.' 

Yet,  though  the  existence  of  God  is  thus  manifested,  there  have 
been  men  mad  enough  to  deny  it.  The  Holy  Scriptures  call  such 
men  fools ;  but  they  assume  to  themselves  honor  as  though  they 
made  the  highest  use  of  their  reason,  and  call  themselves  ration- 
alists, when  they  are  in  fact  like  the  irrational  animals.  Hence 
it  becomes  unfortunately  neqessary  in  our  days  to  recall  some- 
times the  proofs  of  the  existence  of  God,  in  order  to  preserve 
the  faithful  from  the  pestilence  of  infidelity,  as  the  Holy  Fathers 
did  in  many  of  tbeir  discourses  or  works  addressed  to  the  Chris- 
tian people.    "  In  many  cases,  too,  it  is  not  on  any  theory  or  any 


*  Gone.  Yat,  sees.  3,  can.  1. 


*  De  Civitate  Dei,  lib.  zy.,  chap.  iii. 


6 


OBBAT  AU^IOLBB  OF  THB  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


atheistical  principle,"  says  Faber,  ^*  t!iat  God  is  thus  passed  over. 
He  is  unseen,  and  hence  is  practically  considered  as  absent,  and 
what  is  absent  is  easily  forgotten.  He  is  out  of  mind  because  he 
is  out  of  sight.'  There  is  no  objection  to  giving  God  his  place 
only  he  is  not  thought  of.  This  is  one  phase  of  the  world's  for- 
getfulness  cf  God." 

Now,  as  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity,  the  faithful  are  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  mcTi  who  deny  God,  or  who  ignore  him 
completely  in  their  life  and  thought  and  actions ;  and  all  gov(  n- 
ment  actiou  seems  devoted  with  a  fearful  energy  to  the  task  of 
eradicating  from  the  hearts  of  the  young  the  idea  of  God,  and  of 
spiritual  things. 

The  Holy  Council  of  Trent,  met  to  oppose  the  errors  of  the 
swann  of  Protestant  sects  which  started  up  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, passed  nc  canons  or  decrees  on  the  existence  and  nature  of 
God.  Error  had  as  yet  respected  them,  but  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury sees  the  sad  fruit  of  the  sixteenth.  Then  the  authority  of 
the  Church  and  her  sacrifice  and  sacraments  were  denied.  In  two 
centuries  more  God  himself  is  denied  on  all  sides.  The  Council 
of  the  Vatican  has  to  begin  by  defining  the  great  truths  as  to 
God,  and  by  condemning  materialists  and  atheists.' 

Let  us  then  review  the  proofs  of  the  existence  of  God  for  our 
own  consolation  and  encouragement,  and  to  answer  the  doubts  or 
cavils  of  an  unbelieving  world. 

The  visible  world  furnishes  many  proofs.  When  we  turn  our 
thoughts  to  the  world  and  all  that  it  contains,  one  truth  strikes 
us :  all  that  exists  cannot  owe  that  existence  to  some  other,  there 
must  be  some  being  from  which  all  others  flow.  If  every  being 
is  the  effect  of  another,  we  should  have  only  effects  without  a 
cause.  No  matter  how  long  a  series  of  beings  we  imagine,  each 
depending  on  another,  we  must  come  at  last  to  one  which  receives 
its  being  from  no  other.  The  Holy  Fathers  explain  this  by  com- 
parison, and  Cardinal  Gotti,  following  them,  gives  this  striking 
one :  *'  Imagine  a  chain  of  a  vast  number  of  links  suspended  in 
the  air.    Each  link  is  supported  by  that  immediately  above  it. 


^  BesB.  3,  canons  1-5. 


•"^'-^.i^- 


TBX  BZ  6TEN0B  07  OOD. 


7 


The  whole  series  of  links,  the  chain,  will  fall  if  the  topmost  link 
is  not  held  fast  by  something  beyond  it.  If  the  series  of  links 
is  endless  it  will  fall  without  such  a  support  just  as  surely 
as  though  the  links  were  few ;  and  in  fact  all  the  more  surely,  as 
the  number  of  links  would  only  increase  its  weight." 

God,  this  first  cause,  is  infinitely  perfect.  He  must  necessarily 
exist  as  the  first  cause;  and  exist  without  imperfection. 

All  that  we  see  in  the  world  is  subject  to  change,  and  there- 
fore cannot  have  existed  forever.  We  see  things  appear  and  dis* 
appear,  change  and  alter.  They  cannot  exist  by  chance ;  some 
being  gave  them  existence  by  drawing  them  out  of  nothing.  This 
author  of  their  existence  we  call  God.  The  act  of  creation  im- 
plies infinite  power ;  hence  we  must  regard  God  as  not  onl^r  in- 
finitely perfect,  but  also  infinitely  great. 

The  sight  of  the  order  which  reigns  in  the  universe  should  con- 
vince us  of  the  existence  of  an  infinitely  wise  author.  When  in 
the  silence  and  stillness  of  night  we  raise  our  eyes  to  heaven,  we 
are  irresistibly  struck  by  the  luster  shed  from  the  starry  host. 
What  hand  set  those  brilliant  orbs  in  the  immensity  of  space ) 
Who  traoed  the  orbits  through  which  they  so  regularly  move, 
without  confusion  or  shock  ?  Who  bid  the  sun  arise  day  after 
day  to  gladden  the  earth  by  the  beneficent  heat  of  its  rays? 
Who  gave  wings  to  the  light  to  enable  it  in  eight  minutes  to 
traverse  the  distance  of  the  sun  and  earth  ?  Who  ordered  the 
moon  to  turn  earthward  its  illuminated  face  to  diminish  the  ob- 
scurity of  night  ?  Then  let  us  consider  the  earth  arrayed  in  all 
its  adornments.  By  its  verdure  it  soothes  our  sight;  by  its  fruit- 
fulness  it  gladdens  our  heart.  It  forms  a  magnificent  palace,  des- 
tined for  innumerable  inhabitants.  Here  it  offers  dense  forests 
for  animals,  there  streams  and  rivers  for  fish.  What  a  happy  di- 
versity in  its  surface  I  Here  hills  and  mountains,  toward  which 
the  gathering  mists  rise  to  form  clouds ;  there  plains  ftirther  than 
the  eye  can  reach,  watered  by  the  streams  that  leap  down  the 
mountain-side.  In  its  bosom  it  treasures  the  metals  which  serve 
for  the  most  varied  uses.  In  its  whole  circuit  it  is  enveloped  in 
the  atmosphere  indispensable  for  the  breath  and  life  of  men  and 
animals.    To  avoid  exhaustion  by  constant  production,  it  with- 


8 


OBXAT  ABTICLXS  OV  THE  OATHOUC  7AITH. 


draws  for  a  time  from  the  action  of  the  sun's  rays  by  inolinini? 
toward  the  poles ;  then,  hidden  under  a  layer  of  snow,  it  gathers 
new  strength  to  develop  and  send  forth  rapidly,  under  the  fruc- 
tifying sun  of  spring-time,  the  grain  confided  to  its  bosom.  Then 
it  turns  more  and  more  towai'd  the  sun,  but  cautiously,  that  tlio 
still  tender  plants  may  not  suffer  by  excessive  heat ;  then  when 
these  have  acquired  sufficient  consistence,  they  are  exposed  to 
the  full  heat  of  the  sun  to  ripen. 

What  a  marvelous  disposition  and  structure  in  plants,  whicli 
draw  their  nourishment  from  the  earth  by  roots  and  from  the  aii 
by  leaves,  which  are  enveloped  and  protected  by  bark  as  a  cloak, 
which  receive  the  quickening  sap  in  all  their  parts  by  a  multitude 
of  interior  vessels  I  What  fitness  do  we  not  see  in  the  instinct  of 
animals !  With  what  astonishing  facility  the  bee  gives  her  cell 
the  form  best  suited  to  its  requirements,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  least  inconvenient  to  adjacent  cells  I 

Finally,  let  us  consider  the  king  of  creation,  man.  His  very 
mien  proclaims  him  ruler  of  earth ;  for  while  the  animal  walks 
with  looks  directed  earthward,  man  lifts  his  brow  to  the  stars, 
and  freely  casts  his  eyes  in  all  directions.  He  alone  is  al)le  to 
penetrate  in  thought  beyond  the  corporal  world,  and  reach  the 
invisible  truth.  He  is  not  subjected  like  animals  to  a  blind  and 
irresistible  instinct;  he  has  reason  as  a  guide,  and  in  thought 
embraces  the  past  and  the  future ;  he  is  the  crown  of  the  visible 
edifice  of  the  world,  the  center  to  which  all  is  connected,  the  one 
to  which  all  the  rest  is  subordinated,  the  master  to  which  all 
things  are  subject. 

Now  we  ask  who  has  established  among  beings  this  admirable 
order?  If  from  the  effect  we  go  back  to  the  cause,  M'e  must  admit 
that  a  work  so  full  of  wisdom  has  an  author  perfectly  wise.  What 
man,  admiring  a  painting,  where  the  richest  coloring  is  height- 
ened by  the  most  happy  gradations  of  light  and  shade,  was  ever 
tempted  for  a  moment  to  ascribe  it  to  chance  ?  You  read  a  book 
remarkable  for  its  learning  and  wisdom ;  will  you  maintain  it  to 
be  the  mere  play  of  a  child  studying  its  alphabet,  and  not  the 
production  of  a  cultivated  intelligence  ?  You  hear  a  harmonious 
concert ;  are  you  not  at  once  convinced  that  all  who  take  paii;  in 


world  is 

he  surpae 

all  wisdo 

Ouro"\ 

of  God. 

unites  al 

mixture 

or  is  po 

an  infin 

really  e; 

In  th 

thirst  f< 

finite  o: 


TBI  BZISTBNOX  oy  QOD. 


0 


it  obey  one  single  mind  1  And  yet  one  might  see  the  effect  of 
ohftnce  in  all  this  rather  than  in  the  constitution  of  the  world, 
which  forms  a  painting  of  incomparable  magnificence — a  concert 
of  marvelous  harmony.  And  if  we  consider,  not  the  universe, 
but  the  smallest  animal,  the  most  insignificant  plant,  we  find  them 
«l;,uoting  more  art  than  all  that  the  raiud  of  man  has  invented  or 
his  power  accomplished.  It  would  be  easier  to  form  an  epic  with 
letters  thrown  at  random  than  to  form  a  plant  by  a  chance  con- 
gregation of  atoms.* 

Some,  to  avoid  this  argument,  say  this  is  all  the  work  of  nature. 
Tho  work  is  that  of  a  being,  not  of  an  abstraction,  and  what  they 
call  nature  we  call  God.  Others  comprise  all  the  visible  world 
under  the  name  of  nature,  and  represent  it  as  governed  by  blind 
forces,  acting  under  fixed  laws.  But  to  make  forces  as  an  effect 
without  a  caude,  and  laws  without  a  lawgiver,  is  to  place  them* 
selves  lower  than  the  pagans  in  the  order  of  thought,  for  by 
human  reason  alone  Aristotle,  amid  all  the  darkness  of  idolatry, 
shows  that  there  are  in  nature  ends  and  aims  which  evince  clearly 
that  the  author  who  willed  these  ends,  and  the  secondary  causes 
which  necessarily  act,  is  a  being  of  the  highest  intelligence  and 
wisdom.* 

It  is  evident  then  that  the  author  of  the  admirable  order  of  the 
world  is  sovereignly  wise.  We  add  that  he  is  infinitely  so,  for 
he  surpasses  in  wisdom  all  possible  beings  and  is  the  source  of 
all  wisdom.    Tlierefore  he  is  infinitely  perfect. 

Our  own  semi  gives  us  another  series  of  proofs  of  the  existence 
of  God.  It  is  certain  that  we  can  form  the  idea  of  a  .being  who 
unites  all  possible  perfections  in  the  highest  degree  without  any 
mixture  of  imperfection.  Then  an  infinitely  perfect  being  exists 
or  is  possible,  for  we  cannot  conceive  an  impossible  thing.  But 
an  infinitely  perfect  being  cannot  be  merely  possible,  he  must 
really  exist. 

In  this  world  the  human  soul  experiences  an  unquenchable 
thirst  for  happiness,  and  cannot  be  appeased  or  satisfied  by  any 
finite  or  created  good.  If  then  there  did  not  exist  a  sovereign  in- 

'  See  St.  AthsnasiuB,  contra  Qentes.  n.  85 ;  St.  Oregory  of  NazisnzeD,  Orat.  84. 

*  Pbya.,  lib.  ii.,  chap.  viii. 


10 


OIUBAT  ASTIOLBB  OF  THl  OATHOUO  FAITR. 


finite  good,  whose  poiRession  would  6ne  day  couHtitute  man'A  hap- 
piness, thore  woald  be  a  flagrant  contradiction  in  man's  nature. 
For,  on  the  one  hand,  man  would  regard  the  possession  of  this 
supreme  good  as  his  last  end,  and  regulate  his  whole  conduct  to 
secure  it ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  his  conviction  as  to  his  destiny 
would  be  merely  a  vain  illusion.  The  voice  that  speaks  so  power- 
fully  within  him  would  then  be  false,  and  he  would  have  no  means 
of  escaping  from  error,  since  he  cannot  stifle  this  voice  even  if  lie 
would.  He  would  be  more  unfortunate  than  the  iirational  ani- 
mals,  for  they  can  at  least  enjoy  material  good  within  their  reacli. 
And  yet  man's  inferior  faculties  attain  their  object,  while  his  eye, 
80  to  say,  drinks  in  the  light  it  pants  for,  end  his  ear  listens  to 
the  melody  which  charms  it,  his  superior  faculties  would  have  to 
renounce  their  legitimate  satisfaction,  and  learn  that  they  alone 
are  condemned  to  endless  torment  in  case  the  Supreme  Being, 
whose  possession  would  assure  them  perfect  happiness,  did  not 
exist.  It  cannot  be  so.  While  harmony  prevailn  everywhere  It 
is  impossible  that  there  should  be  such  a  flagrant  contradiction 
in  man's  reasonable  nature.  Therefore,  a  sovereign  infinite  good, 
which  we  call  God,  exists. 

Every  man  who  has  attained  the  use  of  reason  feels  subject  to 
a  law  which  condemns  some  acts  as  bad,  and  stimulates  him  to 
others  as  good.  Human  opinions  may  change,  old  customs  give 
way  to  new ;  this  law  does  not  change.  No  matter  under  what 
law  man  lives,  even  in  the  most  savage  tribes  where  law  scarcely 
exists,  certain  acts,  such  as  theft  and  murder,  are  deemed  crimes 
deserving  of  punishment,  even  if  committed  only  in  desire.  No 
nation,  no  tyrant  can  efface  this  interior  law  from  the  heart  of 
man.  It  is  stronger  than  all  human  power;  it  speaks  to  kings 
and  princes  as  to  the  meanest  mortals ;  men  may  for  a  time  refuse 
to  listen  to  its  dictates,  but  it  will  at  last  make  itself  heard  in 
tones  of  thunder.  This  accuser,  this  judge,  this  avenger  is  not 
our  corrupt  nature,  for  that  quails  before  it  and  would  gladly 
escape.  That  voice  is  in  the  soundest  part  of  our  being,  and  the 
better  cultivated  our  reasonable  nature  the  more  distinct  are  the 
utterances  of  this  voice.  We  can  then  draw  this  conclusion :  As 
the  corporal  world  exists  because  our  external  senses  attest  its 


THl  RXIRTXNOX  OF  OOO. 


11 


exintenoe,  lo  there  exists  a  Supreme  Judge,  just  and  holy,  for  all 
men,  because  our  conscience  gives  us  a  testimony  that  cannot  be 
gain»4aid. 

The  testimony  of  all  nations  attests  the  existence  of  God. 
Among  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  that  have  left  the  slightest 
traces  in  history,  we  find  temples,  altars,  a  public  worship,  a  be* 
lief  in  a  deity  who  will  reward  or  punish  men  after  this  life. 
The  wiser  men,  even  among  the  pagans,  as  Cicero  declares,  had 
seen  the  force  of  this  fact,  and  from  it  had  drawn  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  existence  of  a  deity.  Barbarous  as  were  the  native 
tribes  of  America,  Oceanica,  and  Africa,  discovered  within  the 
last  few  centuries,  all  believed  in  a  deity,  whom  they  feared  and 
honored ;  some  at  first  seemed  so  d(  ^aded  that  onn  wan  tempted 
to  compare  them  with  beasts,  and  to  suppose  th>  a  destitute  of 
every  elevated  idea;  but  a  conviction  of  the  o|4>i,8ite  came  with 
deeper  knowledge  of  their  language  an  «  ^istoms.  A^I  pagans 
and  savages  believed  in  the  existence  Oi  a  deity  in  spite  of  the 
fables  with  which  they  disfigured  the  truth.  Such  unanimity  is  a 
proof  of  the  truth  of  this  belief,  for  a  universal  and  constant  fact 
must  have  a  general  and  efficacious  cause.  This  cause  cannot  be 
man's  reason.  This  belief  does  not  spring  from  man's  corrupted 
heart.  No  criminal  would  willingly  make  for  himself  a  judge  and 
an  executioner.  The  idea  of  a  God  was  either  communicated  to 
man  by  God,  or  reason  is  irresistibly  impelled  to  acknowledge 
the  existence  of  a  sovereign  TT'diritely  holy  Being,  or  the  belief  in 
a  first  infinitely  holy  author  of  all  things  is  so  natural  that  no 
mind  can  escape  it. 

The  nations  who  liv^d  sooii  after  the  origin  of  the  human  race 
might,  by  tradition,  have  retained  the  knowledge  of  God,  if  com- 
municated by  God  himself  to  the  first  man ;  but  this  tradition 
would  soon  have  been  effaced,  had  it  not  been  confirmed  by  the 
spectacle  of  the  universe,  and  a  powerful  echo  in  man's  nature, 
and  had  ii  not  perfectly  corresponded  to  the  cravings  of  man's 
head  and  heart. 

The  Holy  Fathers  do  not  hesitate  to  admit  in  man  a  natura] 
knowledge  of  God.     "  The  human  soul,"  says  Tertullian,*  "  pos- 

'  Contra  Marc.,  lib.  i.,  c.  z. 


'"^' 


13 


OBBAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


sessea  the  notion  of  God  from  its  origin."  St.  Cyril  of  Alex- 
andria  declares  that  ''  the  notion  of  the  existence  of  God  is  im- 
planted in  US  by  nature."  *  St.  Augustine  adds :  "  Such  is  the 
almighty  power  of  God,  that  he  cannot  remain  completely  un- 
known by  reasonable  creatures,  as  soon  as  they  attain  the  use  of 
reason."* 

The  belief  in  the  existence  of  God  could  not  spring  from  a 
blind  fear.  The  fear  could  not  exist  without  a  foundation,  and 
that  very  foundation  is  the  belief  in  the  existence;  not  a  result 
of  the  fear,  but  its  cause.         ' 

It  could  not  have  been  established  by  kings  and  tyrants.  They 
perish,  dynasties  succeed  dynasties,  kingdoms  rise  on  the  ruins 
of  others,  all  human  institutions  change  and  disappear ;  this  too 
would  vanish  v/ith  them  were  it  a  mere  human  conception. 

If  it  is  objected  that  idolatry  and  some  scientific  errors  are 
aniversal,  we  can  reply  that  no  one  form  of  idolatry  was 
universal;  and  while  the  nations  recognized  various  deities, 
they  all  agreed  in  acknowledging  one  as  supreme,  the  source  of 
all  the  power ;  and  this  one  was  invoked  in  any  sudden  danger — 
the  testimony  of  a  soul  naturally  Christian,  as  TertuUian  re- 
marks. Natural  revelation  thus  teaches  the  existence  of  God, 
and  some  of  his  perfections.  Then  the  spectacle  of  the  universe 
reveals  to  us  his  wisdom  and  power;  the  benefits  which  he 
showers  upon  us  attest  his  goodness ;  the  voice  of  conscience  cries 
out  that  he  is  just  and  holy.  God  himself  being  infinite,  we 
conclude  that  his  perfections  are  also,  and  that  he  possesses  them 
all  in  an  infinite  degree. 

But  God  has  revealed  himself  to  man  in  a  supernatural  man 
ner,  by  his  prophets,  and  last  of  all,  by  his  Son.  Supernatural 
revelation  shows  us  God  as  the  author,  not  only  of  grace,  but 
also  of  nature.  Thus,  by  virtue  of  revelation,  God,  as  author  of 
nature,  or  as  creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  is  the  object  of  faith  ; 
we  believe  in  the  existence  of  God  as  we  know  God  by  reason  ; 
for  God  could  reveal  his  existence  to  us  as  well  as  other  truths, 
and  oblige  us  to  believe  it  on  his  word.     Moreover,  the  certi- 


God  is 

pendent  < 

Reasoi 

Matter  i 

feet,  is  1 

but  a  s] 

necessar: 

form  an 

the  rest 

The 

When 

place  t 

now  is 

and  in 

Godie 

and  in 

>Cc 


■  De  Triuitate,  lib.  i.,  c.  ii. 


*  Tract.  106,  in  Joan.  xvii. 


i>\ 


NATUBE  AND  ATTBIBUTES  OF  OOD. 


18 


tude  of  the  existence  of  God  drawn  from  re\'elation  ie  in- 
comparably superior  to  that  given  by  reason.  This  Council  of 
the  Vatican  says :  ''  The  same  holy  Mother  Church  holds  and 
teaches  that  God,  the  beginning  and  end  of  all  things,  may  cer- 
tainly be  known  by  the  natural  light  of  human  reason  through 
created  things ;  for  the  invisible  things  of  him,  from  the  creation 
of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things 
that  are  made  (Rom.  i.  20) ;  that  nevertheless  it  has  pleased  his 
wisdom  and  goodness,  by  another  and  that  a  supernatural  way, 
to  reveal  himself  and  the  eternal  decrees  of  his  will  to  the  human 
race,  as  the  apostle  says :  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
manners  spoke  in  times  past  to  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  last 
of  all,  in  these  days,  hath  spoken  to  us  by  his  Son  (Heb.  i.  Ij  2)," ' 
and  it  pronounces  an  anathema  on  "  any  one  who  shall  say  that 
it  cannot  happen,  or  that  it  is  not  fitting,  that  man  should  be 
instructed  by  divine  revelation  concerning  God  and  the  worship 
to  be  paid  to  him."  * 


■m 


The  Natube  and  Attributes  of  God. 

God  is  a  pure  spirit ;  a  being  without  parts,  incorporeal,  inde- 
pendent of  matter,  endowed  with  intelligence  and  will. 

Reason  shows  us  clearly  that  God  cannot  but  be  a  pure  spirit. 
Matter  is  inferior  to  spirit ;  hence  God,  as  being  infinitely  per- 
fect, is  not  material.  How  can  he  who  created  spirits  be  aught 
but  a  spirit?  How  can  he  be  composed  of  parts  when  he  is 
necessarily  infinite?  If  the  parts  were  finite  they  could  not  • 
form  an  infinite  being ;  if  they  were  infinite,  each  would  make 
the  rest  impossible. 

The  holy  Scriptures  everywhere  teach  that  God  is  a  spirit. 
When  the  Samaritan  woman  raised  the  doubt  as  to  the  proper 
place  to  worship  God,  our  Lord  said :  "  The  time  cometh  and 
now  is  when  the  true  adorers  shall  adore  the  Father  in  spirit 
and  in  truth,  for  the  Father  also  seeketh  such  to  adore  him. 
God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that  adore  him  must  adore  him  in  spirit 
and  in  truth."  •  -v  - 


'  CouDc.  of  the  Vatican,  seas.  0.  chap.  ii.         « lb.,  canon  2.        »  John  iv.  23,  24. 


^..li-mtrnm  ^r-miimm>b»>>i^»<i0i*<M*»->mi^' -^ 


14 


OBEAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


Im 


Moreover,  the  Script  are  ascribes  to  '^od  perfections  which  do 
not  at  all  apply  to  a  corporeal  nature.  It  calls  him  immense 
immutable,  immortal,  or  imperishable.  No  body  is  immense,  for 
it  must  be  made  up  of  parts  each  of  which  occupies  a  fixed 
space ;  and  as  long  as  it  is  composed  of  parts  it  cannot  be  essen- 
tially immutable  or  imperishable.  If  a  body  can  be  simultane- 
ously present  in  several  places,  or  acquire  a  kind  of  immuta- 
bility or  immortality,  it  is  not  by  virtue  of  its  own  nature,  but 
by  a  miracle  or  supernatural  gift. 

When  Scripture  speaks  of  the  eyes,  ears,  arms,  or  hands  of 
God,  we  must  by  no  means  imagine  that  God  really  possesses 
such  senses  or  members,  which  belong  only  to  a  body;  the 
Scripture  uses  these  terms  as  figures  to  represent  God's  omnisci- 
ence and  omnipotence  to  man,  who  sees  with  his  eyes,  hears 
with  his  ears,  and  acts  with  his  arms  and  hands.  And  when 
painters  represent  the  Almighty  as  the  Ancient  of  Days,  under 
the  form  of  a  venerable  old  man,  it  is  not  intended  to  express 
that  God  has  that  form,  but  merely  to  signify  that  he  is  eternal, 
the  Providence  which  governs  the  world.  ' 

As  God  is  a  spirit,  in  the  rigorous  sense  of  the  word,  it  follows 
that  he  possesses  intelligence  and  free  will,  for  we  cannot  con- 
ceive a  spirit  that  does  not  possess  these  two  attributes  or  facul- 
ties. From  the  moment  too  that  man  is  required  to  adore  God 
in  spirit  and  in  truth,  that  is  to  say,  interiorly  and  wi'th  his 
spiritual  faculties,  because  this  kind  of  adoration  corresponds  to 
the  very  nature  of  God,  we  must  conclude  that  there  are  in  God 
intelligence  and  free  will,  for  the  spiritual  faculties  which  owe 
God  this  adoration  are  the  intelligence  and  free  will;  conse- 
quently God's  nature  is  at  once  intelligent  and  free  in  the  exer- 
cise of  the  will. 

God,  being  a  pure  spirit,  is  not  composed  of  a  spirit  or  soul 
and  a  body  like  man.  For  if  his  nature  comprehended  a  body, 
it  could  not  be  said  simply  that  he  is  a  spirit ;  we  should  say 
God  is  spirit  and  body,  or  a  spirit  and  a  body.  We  do  not  say 
that  man  is  a  spirit,  but  a  being  composed  of  a  spirit  or  soul,  and 
a  body.  If  God  were  at  once  immaterial  and  corporeal,  the  rea- 
son alleged  by  our  Saviour  for  adorlu"  Go  1  in  spirit  and  in  truth 


Saint  Francis  Xavirr, 
Conf  "sor. 


■■^H 
uMM 


would  fal 

become  hi 

tion  limit 

God  i8 

therefore, 

far  as  poa 

given  to  i 

mal  man 

says  the  ] 

:\'--' '  '•\^--'^:yy-S\U^r'\r^  M      the  Delu 

""''    '      ■-'■*^-'>i' '  '  '^Vv -■■  ■'      cause  he 

understai 
these  thii 
spiritual 
caution : 
the  flesh, 
-rrv,::  ,::'■'■  M       regulatin 

God  and 
which  th 
and  the  i 
other,  so 
combat  \ 
body  is 
shall  her 
the  apos 
body."  • 
dition  tl 
the  spiri 


We  88 
good  an< 
because 
possessei 

'  Gen. 


v.    (iff. 


ATTIOBirrES  AKD  PBBFEOTIONB  OF  OOD. 


10 


^ould  fall  of  itself;  for,  as  a  being  in  part  corporeal,  it  would 
become  him  to  accept  as  due  and  suited  to  his  nature  an  adora- 
tion limited  to  a  fixed  place. 

God  is  a  spirit,  and  as  such  independent  of  matter.  Man, 
therefore,  to  attain  a  resemblance  to  God,  should  free  himself  as 
far  as  possible  from  matter  and  the  rules  that  govern  it.  Man 
given  to  sensual  enjoyments  is  not  a  spiritual  man,  but  an  ani- 
mal man ;  he  is  fiesh,  and  the  spirit  of  God  cannot  dwell  in  him, 
says  the  Lord,  speaking  of  the  generation  which  he  destroyed  at 
the  Delugfe.  "  My  spirit  shall  not  remain  in  man  forever,  be- 
cause he  is  flesh."  *  Man  enslaved  by  his  senses  does  not  even 
understand  spiritual  thinga  "  The  sensual  man  perceiveth  not 
these  things  that  are  of  the  spirit  of  God." '  We  must  become 
spiritual  to  please  God  who  is  a  spirit.  The  apostle  gives  us  this 
caution :  "  Walk  in  the  spirit  and  you  shall  not  fulfill  the  lusty  of 
the  flesh."'  This  obligation  of  walking  in  spirit,  that  iri,  of 
regulating  our  conduct  and  actions  by  the  knowledge  we  have  of 
God  and  of  our  relations  to  him,  causes  that  interior  combat  of 
which  the  apostle  speaks :  "  The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit, 
and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh,  for  these  are  contrary  one  to  an- 
other, so  that  you  do  not  the  things  that  you  would."  *  This 
combat  will  last  as  long  as  our  life  endures,  "  for  the  corruptible 
body  is  a  lo.id  upon  the  soul."  •  It  will  cease  when  our  body 
shall  hereafter  have  become  spiritual,  according  to  these  words  of 
the  apostle :  "  It  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  shall  rise  a  spir*ual 
body."  •  But  our  body  shal^  rise  as  a  spiritual  body  only  on  con- 
dition that  we  ende#ror  here  below  to  subject  it  to  the  law  of 
the  spirit.  •:  ■■ '  ,':       '' ,  V  ,.;.^.:v. ' '"  .^..    "*''^"  ■  -[r]  ■,•:. 


The  Attbibtttbs  and  Peefeotions  op  God. 

We  say  that  God  is  infinitely  perfect,  because  he  is  not  only 
good  and  perfect  to  a  certain  degree  or  in  a  certain  measure,  but 
because  he  possesses  all  perfections.  An  eye  is  perfect  when  it 
possesses  all  that  is  necessary  to  serve  tbe  use  for  which  it  is  in- 


'  Gen.  vi.  8. 

*  Ga(.  ▼.  17. 


•lOor.li.  14. 
» Wisdom  \x.  18, 


•  Gal.  y.  16. 
•lOor.  XT.  44, 


16 


QimiLT  AWnOLEB  OF  THE  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


s;  N 


tended.  If  H  lacks  anything  it  is  imperfect.  God  has  no  limits 
and  is  consequently  perfect  in  all  respects,  which  no  creature 
can  be. 

Beason  alone  teaches  ns  the  infinite  perfo<jtion  of  God,  and 
holy  Scripture  clearly  and  fully  confirms  v/hat  reaeon  teaches. 
When  God  wished  to  make  known  to  Moses  his  lame,  ^/-id  con- 
sequently his  nature,  he  said :  "  I  am  who  am,  thus  shult  moM  say 
to  the  children  of  Israel,  He  who  is  Lf.th  sent  me."*  In  the 
same  sense  our  Lord  said,  *'  One  is  good,  God." «  Man  is  good  in 
a  certain  measure,  but  God  is  good  and  perfucfc  vnthout  any 
limit.  '  '■'•"  '"■  ,..:' ■  v/'  ,  %.,   -^   \ 

To  give  ns  even  a  feeble  idea  oi  God's  penociibn  Scripture 
exalts  at  different  times  his  greatness.  Lis  power,  his  wisdom,  and 
repiojentw  him  m  infinite  in  all  respects:  " Peradventure  thou 
wilt  con  prebend  the  steps  of  God  and  wilt  find  out  the  Al- 
mighty perfectly  ?  He  is  higher  than  heaven,  and  what  wilt  thou 
do  ?  He  is  deeper  than  hell,  and  how  wilt  thou  know  ?  The 
measure  of  him  is  longer  than  the  eaith,  and  broads  than  the 
sea. 


w» 


All  {>erfec\^ions  that  can  be  found  in  creatures,  all  that  can  be 
imagined  belong  to  God ;  but  the  qualities  that  ezist  in  man  are 
not  in  God  with  their  limits  and  imperfections.  Even  the  quali- 
ties or  perfections  which  creatures  possess,  which  imply  no  posi- 
tive imperfection,  such  as  wisdom,  justice,  are  not  in  the  same 
manner  in  G'>'1  God's  wisdom  is  essentially  different  fjom  man's. 
The  names  and  qualifications  which  we  give  to  God  are  not  ade- 
quate, but  more  or  less  defective,  because  %re  transfer  them  from 
the  creature  to  the  Creator.  When  we  call  God  wise,  good,  just, 
holy,  we  do  not  determine  the  degree  of  his  wisdom,  goodness, 
justice,  holiness,  nor  do  we  eirpress  that  these  attributes  are  not 
accidental,  as  in  man,  but  essential  to  his  nature.  Hence  negative 
terms  are  more  exact ;  when  we  call  God  infinite,  immense,  we 
declare  that  there  is  in  God  no  limit ;  but  yet  these  terms,  while 
they  indicate  that  God  possesses  a  certain  perfection,  do  not  ex- 
press how  he  possesses  it.     Every  term  that  we  apply  to  God  is 


>Bzod.iU.U. 


»Matt.xi?.  17. 

» 


•Jobxi.7-9. 


ATTBIBUTES  AND  PEBFEOTIOirS  OF  GOD. 


17 


therefore  below  the  reality.  The  name  best  suited  to  his  nature 
is  that  which  he  gives  himself:  I  am  who  am.  He  thereby  at- 
tributes to  himself  existence  without  any  limit. 

The  knowledge  we  possess  of  the  inlSnite  perfection  of  God 
should  exercise  a  powerful  and  salutary  influence  on  our  life.  If 
the  excellence  of  an  object  excites  our  desire,  what  attraction 
should  we  not  find  in  God  who  possesses  the  fullness  of  good,  all 
united  perfection.  We  might  exclaim  with  David,  "  As  the  hart 
panteth  after  the  fountains  of  water,  so  doth  my  soul  pant  after 
thee,  O  Lord."  *  This  the  seraphic  St.  Francis  understood,  who 
cried  out  unceasingly,  "  My  God  and  my  all." 

If  the  beauty  and  perfection  of  God  touch  us,  what  more 
natural  than  to  endeavor  to  render  ourselves  pleasing  in  his 
sight  ?  The  first  condition  will  be  not  to  seek  to  please  men,  for 
"  if  I  please  men  I  should  not  be  the  servant  of  Christ." » 

The  attributes  of  God  may  be  considered  as  relating  to  his 
being  or  his  action.  The  attributes  of  being  are  his  immutability 
and  eternity,  his  immensity  and  ubiquity.  The  attributes  of 
action  are  his  omniscience  and  wisdom,  his  power,  holiness,  and 
justice,  goodness,  mercy,  and  longanimity,  truth  and  fidelity. 
God  is  immutable.  He  is  subject  to  no  change  in  his  nature, 
thoughts,  or  designs.  The  holy  Scripture  declares  that  in  God 
"  there  is  no  change  or  shadow  of  vicissitude." '  "  For  I  am  the 
Lord  and  1  change  not,"  he  declares  by  the  prophet  Malachy.* 
When  God  produces  anything  new  there  is  a  change  not  in  him, 
but  in  creation ;  a  fact  takfls  place  then  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  the 
will  which  existed  from  all  eternity  and  invariably  in  God.  Yet 
it  does  not  follow  that  it  is  vain  for  man  to  endeavor  to  obtain 
graces  and  avert  chastisements  by  prayer  and  penance,  for  God 
knew  our  prayer  and  penance  from  all  eternity,  and  his  resolu- 
tion was  decided  from  all  eternity.  Although  God  may  hate  and 
love  the  same  man,  as  he  is  just  or  sinful,  there  is  no  succession 
of  hatred  and  love ;  the  act  by  which  he  hates  and  loves  remains 

the  same.      '■•::-^:'v ." -''■:"-^';...-:':^''"'a /-.;:■:  ''■■  r >' ■■;-""",-  ■  "  '-■'''-  ■■■ 
When  the  Scripture  speaks  of  the  repentance  or  the  wrath  of 


*Pi.xi.a. 


•  Gal.  i.  10. 


•JMDWLIT. 


«]i«Liii.6. 


18 


OBBAT  ABTIOLBS  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


God,  it  uses  these  terms  only  to  make  us  feel  more  clearly  God's 
constant  and  invariable  hatred  of  sin.       v 

God  is  essentially  immutable,  while  all  that  exists  without  him 
appears  and  disappears,  increases  and  diminishes,  lives  and  dies. 
The  surface  of  the  earth  is  covered  with  the  remains  of  plants  and 
animals  and  men.  What  have  they  left  behind  them  ?  Dust  and 
ashes  that  the  wind  tosses  at  will  and  that  clings  like  any  other 
dust  to  the  sole  of  our  feet !  And  shall  this  dust  absorb  our 
hearts}  No;  we  cannot  love  frail  things  when  an  imperishable 
God  is  offered  to  our  love.  He  who  clasps  a  frail  object  will  fall 
with  it ;  but  he  who  clings  to  God  will  be  supported  and  abide 
forever.      '\:'  .':.i:- ,r"^-  ■:■    '■.  -■■.■"^- i'^''--' -.  ..  ' 

God  is  eternal ;  that  is,  he  has  neither  beginning  nor  end. 
Hence  he  is  styled  in  the  Apocalypse :  He  "  who  is  and  who  was 
and  who  is  to  come,  the  Almighty." '  If  God  had  not  existed 
always  he  would  have  received  existence  fiom  some  other ;  then 
he  would  not  be  the  sovereign,  independent  Being ;  he  would  not 
be  God.  Therefore  he  has  existed  from  t»ll  eternity.  If  God  could 
cease  to  be,  he  would  not  be  independent,  for  the  power  that 
caused  his  end  would  be  greater  than  he.  Then  his  existence  is 
withou        ^  as  it  is  without  beginning. 

But  we  must  not  figure  to  ourselves  the  eternity  of  God  as  a 
series  of  instants  or  distinct  successive  act?.  Time  is  a  series  of 
changes,  but  the  eternity  of  God  excludes  all  change,  all  succes- 
sion, it  is  simultaneous.  Time  includes  the  past,  present,  and 
future.  Eternity  is  indivisible,  and  embraces  all  in  a  single  point. 
If  there  were  a  succession  of  cimes  in  God,  he  would  not  be  im- 
mutable or  infinitely  perfect,  as  he  would  never  possess  at  once  the 
fullness  of  his  existence  and  felicity.  God  by  virtue  of  his  eternity 
exists  with  all  times  that  succeed  each  other,  so  that  all  events 
are  present  to  him,  as  all  points  of  the  circumference  refer  equally 
to  the  center. 

The  consideration  of  God's  eternity  should  excite  in  us  admira- 
tion and  love.  If  a  friend  rejoices  at  the  happiness  of  his  friend, 
how  should  we  not  rejoice  at  the  infinite  felicity  of  God,  existing 


>Apoo.i.8. 


ATTBXBUTE8  AND  PBBFEOTIONB  OF  QOD. 


10 


from  all  eternity.  The  same  consideration  should  excite  in  us  a 
desire  to  possess  Ood,  for  that  ocean  of  felicity  is  also  our  good, 
and  is  offered  as  our  lot  for  eternity.  If  our  heart  experiences  no 
desire  for  such  a  happiness,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  was  not 
formed  for  happiness,  or  has  no  idea  of  what  is  promised  to  it. 
The  thought  of  God's  eternity  should  also  fill  us  with  a  fear  of 
losing  that  felicity  and  losing  it  for  an  eternity.  Ko  loss  can  be 
compared  to  that  of  an  infinite  good,  and  for  what  do  we  sacrifice 
it  ?  For  some  miserable  enjoyment  that  lasts  but  an  instant  I  Let 
us  despise  earthly  things  and  sigh  only  for  those  that  are  eternal. 
Our  pain  and  L^ruggle  will  after  all  be  but  brief,  our  reward  will 
be  eternal.  Let  us  be  consoled  in  suffering  and  tribulation  by  the 
words  of  the  Pftalmist:  "Thou  art  the  God  of  my  heart  and  the 
God  that  is  my  portion  forever."  * 

God  is  everywhere  present,  in  heaven,  on  earth,  everywhere. 
God  is  present  in  his  creatures  by  his  knowledge,  as  he  beholds 
all  that  is  and  that  is  done.  He  is  present  everywhere  by  his 
power,  which  creates  and  preserves.  He  is  present  everywhere 
by  his  essence,  which  penetrates  all  beings  and  dwells  there  as 
our  soul  does  in  our  body.  Man  can  never  fly  from  nor  escape 
the  presence  of  God  :  "If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven  thou  art  there: 
if  I  descend  into  hoU  thou  art  there.  If  I  take  my  wings  early  in 
the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  even 
there  also  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold 


n  1 


rae. 

God  is  immense ;  that  is  to  say,  his  nature  is  such  that  he  is 
necessarily  by  hi^  essence  in  all  the  beings  which  he  shall  will  to 
create.  W  e  speak  of  God  as  present  everywhere  in  reference  to 
a  created  world.  His  ubiquity  is  a  consequence  of  his  immensity. 
He  would  be  immense  had  he  created  nothing  and  space  had  not 
existed;  but  his  immensity,  like  his  omnipotence,  was  in  uome 
sort  manifested  only  at  the  moment  of  creation.  We  must  not, 
however,  imagine  that  his  nature  is  spread  out  like  air,  or  is  cir- 
cumscribed to  a  place. 

Although  God  is  everywhere  present  by  his  essence,  we  can 


'  Ps.  Ixxii.  29. 


'  Pfl.  cxxsriii.  8-10. 


!?*..' 


90 


OBIAT  ARTXOLBB  OF  TH1B  OATHOUO  FAITR. 


with  the  Scriptures  say,  that  he  is  especially  present  in  certain 
places,  because  he  manifests  his  presence  by  particular  effects. 
Thus  God  if  particularly  in  heaven,  because  he  there  reveals  liin 
glory  to  tbe  angels  and  saints;  he  is  particularly  in  the  just,  be 
cause  he  favors  them  with  sanctifying  grace  and  his  friendship ; 
he  is  particularly  in  the  churches  (independent  of  the  presence  uf 
our  Lord  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament),  because  he  there  gruuts 
graces  more  abundantly. 

What  a  source  of  pious  and  salutary  reflection  we  find  in  the 
thought  of  the  ubiquity  and  immensity  of  God !  God  is  inti- 
mately present  in  all  creatures;  he  is  within  us,  because  he  pen- 
etrates us  with  his  essence ;  he  is  around  us,  filling  all  parts  uf 
space.  We  must  then  habituate  ourselves  to  see  God  in  all  things, 
not  only  as  acting  by  his  power,  but  as  present  by  his  essence. 
Visible  things  are  only  in  some  sort  a  vail  behind  which  God 
conceals  himself.  We  and  all  creatures  are  in  God  as  in  a  tem- 
ple. Let  faith  enlighten  our  mind,  and  we  shall  be  struck  with 
the  infinite  magnificence  of  this  temple,  before  which  the  stars 
grow  dim.  What  a  happiness  for  us  to  think  that  the  vail  will 
one  day  be  lifted,  and  we  shall  contemplate  that  infinite  Majesty 
for  all  eternity !  What  respect  and  awe  should  we  not  feel  for 
the  presence  of  God  1  Let  us  endeavor  to  have  him  dwell  in  us, 
not  simply  as  in  all  his  creatures,  but  as  he  does  in  his  just  and 
his  saints. 

St.  Francis  of  Sales  was  so  imbued  with  the  thought  of  God's 
presence  that,  whether  alone  or  with  others,  healways  maintained 
a  grave,  modest  demeanor.  lie  used  to  say  that  he  felt  no  em 
barrassment  in  the  presence  of  kings  and  princes,  because  he 
habitually  considered  himself  as  standing  in  the  presence  of  a 
greater  monarch,  who  inspired  him  with  respect  at  all  times,  and 
in  all  places. 

God  is  omniscient,  that  is  to  say,  he  knows  all  things.  "  Be- 
hold, O  Lord,  thou  hast  known  all  things,  the  last  and  those  of 
old."  "  Thy  knowledge  is  become  wonderful  to  me ;  it  is  high 
and  I  cannot  reach  it." '  The  Apostle  exclaims :  "  O,  the  depth 
of  the  riches  of  the  wisdca  and  the  knowledge  of  God." '    God 


'  Ps.  czzzviii.  6,  6. 


*Rom.  xi.  93, 


\< 


ATI  trBUTEfl  AKD  PBltrSOTIOirS  OF  OOD. 


ii 


has  a  perfect  knowledge  of  all  things.  Oar  knowledge  is  no  more 
like  God's  than  the  light  of  a  firefly  is  like  that  of  the  sun.  .  We 
know  only  the  ouiward  appearance  of  things,  and  cannot  pene- 
trate to  the  substnace.  God  sees  the  most  secret  depths  of  all 
that  exists.  For  most  things  we  can  make  only  conjectures  or 
opinions ;  God  is  far  from  all  doubt,  uncertainty,  or  error.  God 
knows  all  things  eternally.  All  that  happens  was  ordained  by 
God  from  all  eternity;  hence  God,  whom  no  truth  can  escape, 
beheld  it  from  all  eternity.  God  knows  all  things  by  a  single 
act  of  his  intelligence.  The  feebleness  of  our  minds  makes  the 
acqairing  of  knowledge  slow  and  progressive ;  with  God  this  can- 
not be,  because  in  him  the  essence  and  the  action,  the  faculty  of 
knowing  and  the  knowledge  are  one.  God  knows  all,  immedi- 
ately and  without  effort;  he  derives  all  knowledge,  not  from  with- 
out, but  from  himself. 

God  knows  himself.  '*  The  spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea  the 
deep  things)  of  God :  for  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man, 
but  the  spirit  of  a  man  that  is  in  him  ?  So  the  things  also  that 
are  of  God  no  man  knoweth  but  the  Spirit  of  God." '  God  knows 
all  that  is  possible ;  he  knows  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  fu- 
ture, embracing  all  thp  t  depends  on  man's  free  will.  "  Neither 
is  there  any  creature  invisible  in  his  sight,  but  all  things  are  naked 
and  open  to  his  eyes."'  ^'Thou  hast  understood  my  thoughts 
afar  off,  and  thou  hast  foreseen  all  my  ways."*  The  prescience  of 
God  does  not  destroy  human  liberty,  for  God  foresees  the  actions 
of  the  creature  as  they  shall  be,  that  is  to  say,  free  if  they  are 
free.  A  free  action  is  not  accomplished  because  God  has  foreseen 
it,  but  God  foresees  it  because  it  will  take  place.  Duns  Scotus 
gave  one  day  a  decisive  answer  to  a  peasant  in  England.  Finding 
him  sowing  his  wheat,  he  gave  him  pious  advice.  The  peasant 
replied :  "  I  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  your  counsel.  If  God 
has  foreseen  that  I  shall  be  saved,  my  salvation  is  sure,  whether 
I  do  good  or  evil ;  if  he  has  foreseen  my  damnation,  I  cannot  avoid 
it."  To  this  the  philosopher  replied:  "If  God  has  foreseen  that 
there  will  be  a  crop  of  wheat  in  this  field,  there  will  be  one  whether 
you  plant  it  or  not,  so  you  are  laboring  to  no  purposa" 


'  \  Cqr.  U,  10, 11, 


•Heb,  ir.  18, 


*Pb.  cxzxviii.8,4. 


» 


ORBAT  ARTI0L18  OF  TUX  CArHOi.ii    FAITH. 


.-■j^ 


God  knows  the  contingent  future;  tha:  ia,  what  will  oomo  to 
pass  if  certain  conditions  are  fulfilled :  "  Woe  to  ihee,  Corozain ; 
woe  to  thee,  Bethsaida;  for  if  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  had  been 
wrought  the  miracles  that  have  been  wrought  in  you,  they  had 
long  ago  done  penance  in  sackcloth  and  in  ashes." '  St.  Augus- 
tine says :  "  When  God  wishes  to  show  mercy  to  any  one,  he  calls 
him  in  the  manner  best  adaptcf^d  to  him,  so  that  his  call  shall  not 
be  despised."  ■ 

God  sees  me  t  This  thought  should  turn  us  from  evil.  A  Gud 
infinitely  perfect,  Sovereign  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  has  his 
eye  upon  me  1  God  sees  me ;  he  knows  all  my  actions,  all  my 
words,  all  my  desires,  all  my  thoughts.  Even  if  I  can  impose  upon 
men,  I  cannot  prevent  God  from  beholding  me.  He  sees  me  in 
the  darkness  as  in  the  glare  of  day.  He  sees  me  who  will  be 
my  Judge,  and  to  whom  I  must  render  an  account  of  all  my 
thoughts,  words,  and  actions. 

God  sees  me !  This  thought  should  stimulate  us  to  good.  He 
sees  all  our  good  works ;  the  world  may  be  unjust  to  us,  but 
God  sees  our  innocence,  our  suflferiugs,  our  trials,  our  efforts,  sees 
them  with  love  and  compassion. 

God  is  infinitely  wise ;  he  adapts  all  things  perfectly  to  accom- 
plish their  intended  result.  As  he  knows  perfectly  the  forces 
inherent  in  all  beings  and  all  their  possible  relations,  nothing  was 
easier  to  him  than  to  endow  them  with  all  the  faculties  fitted  to 
their  end,  and  to  establish  among  them  a  connection  and  subor- 
dination that  no  created  intelligence  could  ever  have  devised. 

The  material  world  gives  us  at  every  moment  new  lessons  on 
the  wisdom  of  God,  but  it  is  evinced  still  more  in  the  human  race. 
It  has  always  guided  the  destinies  of  nations  and  individuals  in 
such  a  manner  that  they  carried  out  his  views,  often  without  the 
least  suspicion  on  their  part.  Joseph  is  sold ;  what  was  intended 
for  his  ruin  served  to  raise  him  to  power.  Moses  is  exposed  as 
a  child,  and  by  that  very  act  touched  the  heart  of  the  king's 
daughter,  and  was  placed  in  the  way  to  become  the  leader  and 
liberator  of  his  people.    Our  feeble  mind  cannot  always  trace 


the  work 
pies  in  hisj 
uitely  wise! 
understand! 

God  is 
only  to  will 
than  seven] 
in  God  tht 
tude  of  d< 
vation  of 
Kucharist, 
God  ere 
were  mad 
God  said: 
draw  som( 
the  will, 
create  as  n 
The  Sci 
often  wish 
to  inspire 
grandeur 
God  says 
wast  thoi 
should  b 
mighty : 
hand,  an 
poised  w 
mountaii 
nations  i 
grain  of 
God  i 
to  save, 
confide! 
why  8h< 
mercy  c 


■Matt.  xi.  21. 


•Ad  Simpl.,  1. 1,  q.  2. 


>  Pa.  01 


ATTRIBUTES  AND  PEKTSOTIOirS  OF  OOD.  98 

the  work  of  the  divine  wisdom,  but  after  seeing  so  many  exam* 
plea  in  history,  we  cannot  but  recognize  the  action  of  an  infl- 
nitely  wise  hand  in  the  works  and  events,  of  wliich  we  do  not 
uiulerstand  the  purport. 

God  is  almighty;  that  is,  he  can  do  all  that  he  wills,  and  has 
Diily  to  will  it  to  acc()ni])li8h  it.  God  is  called  almighty  in  more 
than  seventy  places  in  the  Bible.  The  Creed  begins :  I  believe 
in  God  the  Father  Almighty.  This  faith  is  the  basis  of  a  multi- 
tude of  dogmas  of  our  religion,  such  as  the  creation  and  preser- 
vation of  the  world,  the  incarnation,  resurrection,  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  etc. 

God  creates  by  a  mere  act  of  his  will :  "  He  spoke  and  they 
were  made;  he  commanded  and  they  were  created."*  "And 
God  said :  Be  light  made,  and  light  was  made."  *  To  create  is  to 
draw  something  out  of  nothing,  or  give  it  existence  by  an  act  of 
the  will.  This  world  has  not  exhausted  God's  power,  he  can 
create  as  many  universes  as  he  will. 

The  Scripture,  in  turning  our  thoughts  to  God's  omnipotence, 
often  wishes  to  excite  us  to  a  sense  of  our  own  nothingness  and 
to  inspire  a  salutary  fear.  Man  is  nothing  compared  to  the 
grandeur  of  creation,  and  still  less  in  presence  of  the  Creator. 
God  says  to  us  as  he  did  to  Job  from  the  whirlwind  :  "  Where 
wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  ? "  *  Man 
should  bow  humbly  before  him  whose  works  proclaim  him  al- 
mighty :  "  Who  hath  measured  the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand,  and  weighed  the  heavens  with  his  palm?  Who  hath 
poised  with  three  fingers  the  bulk  of  the  earth,  and  weighed  the 
mountains  in  scales  and  the  hills  in  a  balance?  Behold  the 
nations  are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket,  and  are  counted  as  the  smallest 
grain  of  a  balance."  * 

God  is  almighty,  not  only  to  chastise,  but  also  to  protect  and 
to  save,  and  therefore  we  should  unite  a  salutary  fear  to  a  great, 
confidence.  Fear  of  God  should  banish  all  other  fear.  And 
why  should  we  fear  aught  but  God,  since  all  that  exists  is  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Almighty,  and  not  a  sparrow  falls  from  the  roof  or 


>  Ps.  czlriii.  4,  S. 


*  Oen.  i.  3. 


» Job  xzxyiii.  4. 


*  Isa.  zl.  13. 


84 


OBBAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


a  hair  from  our  head,  but  hy  hi8  permission  ?  The  deadly  enemy 
of  God  and  man  can  do  us  no  evil,  because  he  is  restrained  by 
the  hand  of  the  Almighty.  Confidence  in  this  divine  protection 
has  made  the  saints  calm  amid  dangers  from  savages,  tempests 
and  all  other  sources.  ; 

God  is  holy ;  that  is  to  say,  he  loves  and  wishes  the  good  and 
hates  evil.  The  moral  law  is  founded  on  the  very  nature  of 
God ;  it  prescribes  what  is  conformable  to  that  law,  and  forbids 
what  contradicts  it.  The  sanctity  of  God  is  the  foundation  anc] 
model  of  ours.  For  us  sanctity  consists  in  loving  God  as  the 
Eovereign  good,  and  for  his  own  sake,  and  all  else  for  his  sake. 
God  cannot  wish  moral  evil  or  sin.  The  holy  Scripture  says 
distinctly :  "  Thou  art  not  a  God  that  wiliest  iniquity."  • 

God  is  holy  in  himself;  essentially,  infinitely,  invariably,  and 
sovereignly. 

The  sanctity  of  God  is  the  source  of  all  holiness  in  creatures ; 
it  is  its  model  and  its  type,  its  end  and  its  reward. 

The  thought  of  God's  sanctity  should  make  us  feel  our  i ©th- 
ingness, and  fill  us  with  sentiments  of  humility.  If  we  reflect 
that  the  highest  sanctity  of  the  creature  is  but  defiled  before 
God,  "  that  the  heavens  are  not  pure  in  his  sight,"  what  shall  we 
think  of  our  own  justice,  not  merely  in  comparison  with  God, 
but  with  what  we  feel  it  should  be  ?  What  respect  should  not 
the  thought  of  God's  holiness  excite  in  us?  With  what  awe 
should  we  not  appear  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  is  everywhere 
present,  and  in  especial  manner  in  our  churches  ? 

God  is  Just :  he  rewards  the  good  and  punishes  the  wicked. 
Our  conscience  recognizes  God  as  a  just  judge,  when  even  after 
a  secret  fault  it  is  troubled  and  disquieted ;  and,  on  the  contrary, 
after  a  good  action  it  feels  happy  and  contented.  And  the  chas- 
tisements which,  from  the  first,  have  fallen  upon  rebellious  creat- 
ures, what  do  they  proclaim  except  the  existence  of  a  sovereignly 
just  God  ?  "  God  spared  not  the  ang  Js  who  sinned,  but  delivered 
them,  drawn  down  by  infernal  ropes,  to  the  lower  hell,  into  tor- 
ments, to  be  reserved  unto  judgment,  and  spared  not  the  original 
world."  *    On  account  of  sin,  God  deprived  our  first  parents,  and 


'  V*.  T,  », 


»  9  Peter  ii.  ♦, 


ATTBIBUTBS  AND  PBBFEOTIONR  OF  OOD. 


95 


their  descendants,  of  the  supernatural  gifts  which  he  had  lav- 
ished on  them,  changed  the  course  of  nature  to  punish  them,  left 
men  in  the  tyranny  of  Satan,  and  permitted  thousands  of  creatures, 
for  whom  he  had  prepared  heaven,  to  bo  deprived  of  eternal 
bliss. 

Notwithstanding  God's  rigor  in  punishing  sin,  he  manifests 
his  goodness  and  mercy  as  well  as  his  justice,  which  is  more 
glorified  in  rewarding  tne  good  than  in  punishing  the  wicked. 

When  God  rewards  our  good  works,  he  crowns  his  own  gifts, 
for  we  not  only  receive  from  him  the  faculty  of  doing  good,  hut 
every  virtuous  action  is  a  gift  of  his  goodness.  Yet  God  rewards 
good  more  than  he  punishes  evil. 

The  justice  of  God  is  not  exercised  fully  until  eternity.  Good 
and  evil  do  not  receive  here  below  the  reward  or  chastisement 
that  they  deserve,  although  there  exists  a  certain  justice  or  com- 
pensation here  below,  for  good  as  well  as  for  evil. 

We  must  not  consider  God's  justice  as  only  inspiring  fear.  It 
really  merits  our  love,  for  it  is  the  justice  of  a  father  impelled 
even  by  his  goodness  in  punishing.  Ih  not  the  justice  of  God 
more  admirable  in  the  reward  of  virtue  than  in  the  punishment 
of  sin  ?  And  what  is  the  least  good  action — a  mere  glass  of 
water,  for  example,  given  ^or  the  love  of  God,  compared  to  <'ter- 
ual  beatitude?  Ev^^n  if  the  rewwd  of  our  good  actions  is  en- 
tirely deferred  to  th«  next  life,  we  should  uot  doubt ;  we  know 
that  it  is  sure. 

We  should  fear  God's  justice  in  puni*<hing  evil.  The  fear  of 
human  justice  prevents  many  cri'oer, ;  ^hc  thought  of  God's  jus- 
tice should  produce  still  more  nalutary  effects  in  us  by  dtternng 
us  from  sin.  Many  criminal  act*  escape  the  eye  of  eart'ily  judges, 
but  the  eye  of  God  beholds  all. 

"There  are  few  of  God's  attributes  more  beautiful  or  more 
adorable  tl  mi  his  justice.  Tb^^re  is  no  justice  like  his,  for  it  is 
founded  on  his  own  divine  nature,  not  on  any  obligations  by 
which  he  is  bound.  Some  of  the  saints  ha\  e  had  a  special  devo- 
tion to  his  justice,  and  have  made  it,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  the 
subject  Oi  their  contemplations.  An  intelligent  creature  would 
rather  be  in  the  hands  of  God's  justice  than  at  the  mercy  of  the 


4 


26 


OBEAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


most  loving  of  Lis  fellow-creatures.  The  Apostle  tells  us,  that 
the  acceptance  of  our  contrition  and  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins 
depend  upon  God's  justice.  His  distribution  of  the  gifts  of  na- 
ture, grace,  and  glory  is  the  masterpiece  of  his  justice,  which  alone, 
and  of  iti^elf,  could  till  us  witii  gladness  and  wonder  for  a  whole 
eternity." 

The  goodness,  mercy,  and  longanimity  of  God  have  this  in  com- 
mon, that  mercy  is  God's  gooilness  to  the  repenting  sinner ;  long- 
animity is  his  goodness  to  the  sinner  who  does  not  yet  repent. 

'*  How  shall  we  speak  of  thee,  O  beautiful  mercy  of  God  ?  It 
is  mercy  which  seems,  above  all  things,  to  make  us  understand 
God.  Wherever  we  go  there  is  mercy — the  peaceful,  active,  broad, 
deep,  endless  mercy  of  our  Heavenly  Father.  If  wo  work  by  day 
we  work  in  mercy's  light,  and  we  sleep  at  night  in  the  lap  of  our 
Father's  mercy." 

God  is  good ;  he  loves  all  his  creatures,  and  grants  them  num- 
berless benefits.  The  Holy  Scriptures  attest  God's  goodness: 
"Thou  lovest  all  things  that  are,  and  hatest  none  of  the  things 
which  thou  hast  made."  '  God  loves  even  sinners,  not  as  sinners, 
but  as  his  creatures.  Each  one  of  us  is  the  object  of  that  love 
which  God  declares  he  had  for  the  people  of  Israel :  "  Can  a 
woman  forget  her  infant,  so  as  not  to  have  pity  on  the  son  of  her 
womb  ?  and  if  she  should  forget,  yet  will  I  not  forget  thee."'  "We 
see  God's  goodness  also  in  the  order  and  preservation  of  the  world 
for  man's  sake. 

Although  man,  as  a  creature,  is  inferior  to  the  angels,  yet  he 
has  this  advantage  over  them,  that  in  the  Incarnation  it  was 
human,  not  angelic  nature  that  was  united  to  the  divine  nature  in 
the  person  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  Son  of  God  became,  in  his 
incarnation,  our  brother.  And  as  it  is  his  delight  to  be  with  the 
children  of  men,  his  ingenious  love  invented  and  instituted  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  to  abide  with  us  forever,  and  nour- 
ish us  with  his  divine  substance.  To  raise  us  to  the  highest  possi- 
ble resemblance  to  himself,  God  has  adorned  our  soul  with  gifts  of 
a  special  order;  has  rais-d  it  to  a  supernatural  dignity,  by  mak- 
ing it  partake  of  the  divine  nature  as  far  as  a  created  nature  is 


susceptiblj 

us  most  gr 

made  partj 

us  a  new  Ij 

exalted  ml 

supernatuj 

now  the  sc 

be.   Wek| 

because 

It  is  no| 
called  us 
ness  appei 
ness.  It 
on  us.  Ii 
God  und( 
diminish  1 

or  happirJ 
As  God 

seem  to  u 

naturally 

Let  us  tl 

our  neigh 

us,  we  to< 

of  God,  1 

enemies ; 

persecut 

Father  \ 

and  the 

Godi 

from  hi 

is  infin 

creatur 

misery 

of  his 

tliat  w 

'8Pe 


'  Wisdom  xi.  25. 


'lea.  xlix.  IS. 


ATTBIBUTES  AND  PEBFE0TION8  OF  OOD. 


87 


susceptible  of  doing.  "  By  Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord,  he  hath  given 
us  most  great  and  precious  promises :  that  by  these  you  may  be 
made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature." '  Sanctifying  grace  gives 
us  a  new  life,  and  makes  us  children  of  God  in  a  new  and  more 
exalted  manner.  The  effect  of  this  divine  adoption  will  be  our 
supernatural  beatitude  by  the  intui^'ve  vision  of  God.  **  We  are 
now  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  hath  not  yet  appeared  what  we  shall 
be.  We  know,  that  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  to  him, 
because  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." ' 

It  is  not  from  necessity  or  for  his  own  advantage  that  God  has 
called  us  into  existence  and  lavished  his  gifts  upon  us.  His  good- 
ness appears  all  the  more  admirable  when  we  consider  his  great- 
ness. It  is  purely  from  his  goodness  that  God  bestows  his  gifts 
on  us.  In  creating  the  world  in  general,  and  man  in  particular, 
God  undoubtedly  had  in  view  his  own  glory ;  but  this  does  not 
diminish  his  goodness ;  for  creation  does  not  increase  his  frr*»g,tne3s 
or  happiness. 

As  God  has  given  us  so  many  proofs  of  his  love,  nothing  should 
seem  to  us  more  just  and  easy  than  to  return  it.  Our  hearts  are 
naturally  drawn  toward  one  by  whom  we  know  tliat  we  are  loved. 
Let  us  then  be  grateful  to  the  goodness  of  God,  and  let  us  love 
our  neighbor  as  the  belov^ed  dir  <  i  »^le  enjoi?is.  "  If  God  has  so  loved 
us,  we  too  should  love  one  another." '  Let  our  charity  be  like  that 
of  God,  universal,  and  embrace  even  our  enemies.  "Love  your 
enemies;  do  good  to  the^Ti  that  hate  you;  and  pray  for  those  that 
persecute  and  calumniate  you ;  that  you  may  be  children  of  your 
Father  who  is  'n  heaven,  wlio  maketh  \m  sun  rise  on  the  good 
and  the  bad,  and  laineth  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust."* 

God  is  merciful;  that  is  to  say, he  is  disposiid  to  turn  aside  evil 
from  his  creatures,  and  to  pardon  all  truly  contrite  sinners.  God 
is  infinitely  good,  and  consequently  dlnposed  to  do  good  to  his 
creatures.  Every  benefit  he  grants  them  removes  a  part  of  their 
misery  or  supplies  a  defect.  Thus  God's  mercy  is  a  consequence 
of  his  goodness  or  his  love,  or  rather  it  is  his  goodness  and  love 
that  we  style  his  mercy,  when  we  consider  not  the  good  it  con- 


8  Peter  i.  4. 


•  1  John  iii.  3, 


•  1  John  l7. 11. 


«MAtt.r.ii,4S. 


98 


GRBAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


fers,  but  the  evil  it  removes.  God  is  really  and  truly  merciful 
although  he  does  not  experience  any  feelings  of  grief  or  sorrow 
at  the  misery  which  he  compassionates,  for  this  grief  is  no  essential 
part  of  mercy.  God  is  merciful  to  the  sinner  because  he  loves  him. 
God,  being  goodness  itself,  is  always  disposed  to  do  good  to  his 
creatures,  and  the  sinner,  notwithstanding  his  guilt,  may  always 
be  an  object  of  pity.  The  misery  and  misfortune  in  which  the 
sinner  languishes,  are  of  a  nature  to  excite  God's  compassion  and 
touch  his  merciful  goodness.  God  is  merciful  to  the  sinner  also 
because  the  sinner,  who  belongs  to  God,  like  all  other  creatures, 
is  in  the  way  of  perdition,  notwithstanding  the  divine  solicitude 
for  his  welfare.  God  cannot,  with  indifference,  behold  his  own 
image  disfigured,  and  his  designs  for  man  thwai-ted,  the  blood  of 
the  Divine  Son  shed  in  vain.  He  shows  mercy  to  the  sinner  also 
in  order  to  manifest  his  power  in  the  destruction  of  sin.  The 
justification  of  the  sinner  is  a  work  of  the  supernatural  order,  and 
consequently  exceeds  the  creation  of  the  world  as  far  as  grace 
excels  nature.  St.  Augustine  *  declares  justly,  that  it  is  superior 
to  heaven  and  earth  and  all  that  is  on  earth  or  in  heaven. 

To  form  even  a  feeble  idea  of  the  divine  mercy,  we  must  con- 
sider the  rreatness  of  him  who  is  offended  by  sin.  We  are  poor 
creatures,  wretched  worms  of  earth,  and  yet  we  find  it  hard  to 
forgive  an  injury.  We  would  wonder  to  see  an  emperor  gener 
ously  pardon  an  insult  from  one  of  the  meanest  of  his  subjects. 
What  then  should  be  our  astonishment  to  behold  the  infinite 
majesty,  the  creator  of  the  universe,  the  author  of  countless 
benefits,  pardon  his  creature  ?  God's  mercy  extends  not  to  a  few 
sinners,  but  to  all.  "  Thou  hast  mercy  upon  all." "  It  extends  to 
all  sins.  "  If  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  made  white  as 
snow;  and  if  they  be  red  as  crimson,  they  shall  be  white  as 
wool."* 

The  Church,  guided  by  Jesus  Christ,  has  always  condemned  as 
blasphemers  and  heretics  those  who  set  limits  to  God's  mercy. 

This  mercy  is  the  more  astonishing  when  we  consider  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  is  exercised.     God  not  only  pardons  the  repent- 


salubary 
abases  it 
I.ord  is  i 
For  mei 
looketh 
and  deft 
God  i 
deceive 
our  tho 
any  thin 
ise.     " 


mg  IS  6 


'  la  Joan,  tract.  72. 


'  Wisdom  xi.  24. 


*Isa.  i.  18. 


Ezoc 


ATTBIBUTXS  AND  PEBFBOTXOITS  OW  OOD.  90 

ant  sinner,  but  he  loads  him  with  benefits.  He  adorns  him  with 
sanctifying  grace,  as  the  father  of  the  prodigal  son  clothed  him 
ill  his  finest  robe ;  as  if  to  celebrate  it  as  a  triumph,  he  inspires 
all  his  angels  to  rejoice  over  him. 

God  will  withdraw  us  from  the  world  when  it  pleases  him, 
and  then  the  day  for  mercy  will  have  set.  We  must  so  live  as 
not  to  be  surprised  by  the  day  of  Justice.  Wc  must,  above  all, 
beware  of  letting  a  trust  in  God's  mercy  lull  us  into  persistence 
in  sin.  This  would  be  to  despise  God  and  deprive  us  of  his 
mercy.  •  ,  ;> 

God  in  his  longanimity  is  patient  with  sinners  and  gives  them 
time  to  do  penance.  In  his  mercy  he  receives  back  the  contrite 
sinner ;  in  his  longanimity  he  bears  with  the  impenitent ;  mercy 
pardons,  longanimity  bears  with  the  sinn.^r,  and  seelcs  to  put  hi'n 
in  a  condition  to  obtain  mercy.  The  Scripture  often  extols  the 
patience  and  longanimity  of  God.  "Lord  God,  merciful  and 
element^  patient,  and  of  much  mercy."'  "The  Lord  dealeth  pa- 
tiently for  your  sake,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but 
that  all  should  return  to  penance."  '  But  though  the  longa- 
nimity of  God  fills  us  with  admiration  and  gratitude,  we  must  not 
forget  that  God  nowhere  pledges  himself  to  grant  us  time  for 
repentance  affcei'  sin.  God  promises  t'le  sinner  his  grace,  but  not 
nil  unlimited  time  for  his  conversion,  A  prolonging  of  life  is 
salutary  to  him  who  repents,  but  it  is  terrible  to  the  one  who 
al)ttses  it  only  to  increase  his  sins.  "  Say  not :  The  mercy  of  the 
Lord  is  great ;  he  will  have  mercy  on  the  multitude  of  my  sina 
For  mercy  and  wrath  quickly  come  from  him,  and  his  wrath 
looketh  upon  sinners.  Delay  not  to  be  converted  to  the  Lord, 
and  defer  it  not  from  day  to  day."  ' 

God  can  speak  and  reveal  only  what  is  true ;  he  can  neither 
deceive  nor  be  deceived.  Veracity  consists  in  the  conformity  of 
our  thought  and  will  with  our  word,  when  we  affirm  or  promise 
anything.  Fidelity  makes  us  adhere  towhat  we  affirm  or  prom- 
ise. "  God  is  true  and  every  man  is  a  liar."  *  Man's  understand- 
ing is  subject  to  error  and  his  will  inclined  to  evil.    Hence  man 


'  Ezod.  zzv.  6. 


»2Pet.  iii.  9. 


•EccluB.  V.  6-8. 


'  Rom.  ill.  4. 


80 


OBBAT  ABTIOLBS  OF  THE  OATBOLIO  FAITH. 


is  not  always  in  the  truth  and  becomes  a  deceiver,  sometimes 
willfully,  sometimes  involuntarily.  In  God  this  is  impossible. 
His  infinite  intelligence  is  possessed  of  all  truth  and  is  conse- 
quently incapable  of  error ;  his  will  is  holy  and  consequently  ab- 
hors falsehood ;  for  God  cannot  will  what  is  contradictory  to 
him.     He  is  truth  itself,  and  truth  is  in  contradiction  with  error. 

The  veracity  of  God  is  the  immovable  foundation  on  which 
the  faith  of  the  Church  rests.  If  doubt  should  rise  in  our  mind 
and  tend  to  shake  our  faith,  nothing  would  be  better  than  to  call 
to  mind  the  solidity  of  this  foundation  of  our  faith.  The  thought 
of  God's  veracity  should  also  inspire  us  with  a  profound  horror 
tor  falsehood,  dissimulation,  and  hypocrisy.  The  veracity  of  God, 
as  the  foundation  of  our  faith,  is  also  the  foundation  of  the  rela- 
tions between  God  and  man,  as  man's  veracity  is  the  necessary 
bond  of  society. 

God  is  faithful  ;  that  is,  he  gives  what  he  has  promised,  and 
fulfills  his  menaces.  The  Almighty,  in  the  Scriptures,  gives  ua 
the  assurance  of  his  fidelity  to  his  promises  and  threats.  "  And 
thou  shalt  know  that  the  Lord  thy  God,  be  is  a  strong  and  faith- 
ful God,  keeping  his  covenant  and  ir.cjrcy  to  them  that  love 
him,  and  to  thom  that  keep  his  commandments,  unto  a  thousand 
generations,  and  repaying  forthwith  them  that  haie  him,  so  as  to 
destroy  them  without  further  delay,  immediately  rendering  to 
them  what  they  deserve."  '  The  fulfillment  of  this  is  seen  clearly 
in  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people.  God  accomplishes  all  his 
promises  in  a  manner  equally  certain.  The  apostle  says:  "Let 
us  hold  fast  the  confession  of  our  hope,  without  wavering,  for  he 
is  faithful  that  hath  promi'^  ;>d."' 

In  fact  the  fidelity  of  God  is  a  consequence  of  his  veracity  and 
immutability.  God  is  faithful,  also,  because  he  is  wise  and  holy. 
All  that  God  has  announced,  like  the  last  judgment,  will  most 
certainly  come  to  pass.  So  what  is  promised  conditionally  will 
be  accomplished  when  the  prescribed  condition  is  fulfilled.  Thus, 
for  example,  we  shall  surely  attain  life  everlasting  if  we  die  in  a 
st^te  of  grace. 


<Deut.  vil.  9,  10. 


'  Heb.  t.  23. 


THE  TTNITY  OP  GOD. 


81 


What  coDfidence  should  not  fill  our  hearts  at  the  thought  of 
God's  fidelity  I  Even  if  our  hope  rested  on  the  divine  goodness, 
unsuppbrted  by  promises,  we  should  trust  ourselves  to  God  with 
filial  confidence ;  but  as  be  has  promised  us  eternal  life  and 
means  to,  attain  it,  any  distrust  on  our  part  would  be  an  insult. 
Why  then  do  we  rely  so  little  on  God,  in  spite  of  his  promises, 
and  so  much  on  men,  forgetting  what  the  wise  man  says :  "  Who 
shall  find  a  faithful  man  ? " '  God's  fidelity  to  us  should  be  the 
model  of  our  fidelity  to  our  fellow-beings  and  toward  God 
himself 

God  is  immutable.  There  is  in  him  no  change  or  shadow  of 
vicissitude.  "God  changes  his  works  without  changing  his 
counsels,"  says  St.  Augustine,  But  the  change  is  in  creatures, 
not  in  him.  Time  cannot  change  him,  because  he  is  eternal;  nor 
place,  because  he  is  immense.  He  cannot  change  within  himself, 
because  he  is  perfect.  He  cannot  be  changed  by  anything  out- 
side him,  because  he  is  almighty.  His  life  is  absolute  repose, 
beatitude,  simplicity ;  and  in  all  this  there  can  be  no  change. 
The  very  necessity  which  compels  us  to  speak  of  God,  as  if  he 
changed,  only  brings  home  to  us  more  forcibly  the  perfection  of 
his  tranquillity.  Let  us  then  lovingly  adore  that  unchangeable- 
ness  of  God,  which  has  lain  for  all  eternity  more  unwrinkled 
than  a  summer  sea,  and  will  lie  to  all  eternity,  with  almost  infi- 
nite worlds  round  about  it,  and  yet  have  no  current,  stream,  or 
pulse,  or  tide  or  waves,  with  no  abyss  to  hold  it,  and  with  no 
shore  to  bound  it,  with  no  shadow  from  without,  and  no  throb- 
bing from  within. 

The  Unitt  op  God. 

The  next  of  the  great  dogmas  of  faith  necessary  for  salvation 
is  the  unity  of  God.  This  Moses  proclaimed  to  the  chosen  peo- 
ple, and  our  Saviour,  in  tho  new  law,  repeated  it  as  the  first 
commandment  of  all :  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one 
God." '  God  had  himself  proclaimed  it :  "  See  ye,  that  I  alone 
am,  and  there  is  no  other  God  beside  me." ' 

As  long  as  men  retained  a  true  knowledge  of  God,  and  his 


4 
* 


Vr^  .  XX,  6. 


»Dcut,  vi.  4r  Markxii.  89. 


» Dent,  txj^l.  39. 


83 


GREAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH.  ' 


attributes,  they  could  not  lose  the  faith  in  the  unity  of  God. 
Every  attribute  shows  that  there  is  and  can  be  but  one  God. 
The  Deity  must  be  infinitely  perfect ;  but  there  cannot  be  two 
beings  infinitely  perfect,  for  each  would  lack  the  perfections  of 
tlie  other,  and  cease  to  be  perfect.  If  there  existed  another 
being  equal  to  him,  and  independent  of  him,  God  would  not  bo 
omnipotent',  independent,  supreme.  Tertullian,  arguing  agaiiiHt 
the  pagans,  said :  "  Either  we  must  admit  that  there  is  only  one 
God,  or  refuse  to  admit  any." 

But  the  true  tonceptiou  of  God  was  darkened  by  the  passions. 
The  goodness,  the  mercy  of  God,  his  omniscience  and  omnipo- 
tence, were  lost  sight  of.  Men  felt  the  evil  inclinations  of  their 
own  hearts,  and  saw  evil  increase.  They  raised  the  principle  of 
evil  to  an  equality  with  God,  and  made  every  passion  a  deity. 
From  this  sprang  the  fearful  polytheism  of  the  heathen  world, 
which  worshiped  gods  without  number.  So  rapidly  did  this 
terrible  darkness  of  the  mind  and  heart  spread  over  the  world, 
that  only  a  few  centuries  after  the  Flood  the  whole  world  was 
sunk  in  it,  and  the  Almighty,  to  preserve  the  faith  in  the  exist- 
ence and  unity  of  God,  called  Abraham  from  amid  the  worship- 
ers of  the  solar  system  and  fire,  and  set  hira  apart  as  the  father 
of  a  nation  who  were  to  serve  him  alone. 

The  wonderful  ways  of  God  ttsward  the  holy  patriarchs,  and 
the  election  of  the  people  of  Israel,  all  tended  to  preserve  pure 
and  intact  this  great  truth.  The  first  of  the  commandments 
delivered  to  Moses  said  expressly  :  "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other 
gods  besid.^  me."  The  prophets  and  holy  men  were  constantly 
recalling  this  truth  to  the  i)eople  of  Israel,  who,  dwelling  in  the 
midst  of  nations  that  worshiped  numberless  false  gods,  of  the 
most  horrid  or  alluring  character,  were  constantly  tempted  to 
fall  away,  either  through  a  love  of  pleasure  or  a  foolish  terror. 
God  supported  the  teachings  of  his  servants  by  numberless  mir- 
acles, to  show  that  he  alone  was  the  true  God,  and  that  the  gods 
of  the  Gentiles  were  demons.  Isaias,  repeating  the  words  of 
God,  says :  "Remember  the  former  age,  for  I  am  God,  and  there 
is  no  God  beside  me,  neither  is  there  the  like  to  me  ";  *  just  as 

>  IsaiAB  xlvi.  0. 


THE   UNITY  OF  GOD. 


8$ 


St.  Paul  addressing  the  Corinthians,  who  had  embraced  the  faith, 
but  lived  amid  the  go'geous  temples  where  art  lent  all  its  seduc- 
tions to  draw  men  to  the  service  of  idols,  says :  "  There  is  no 
God  but  one ;  for  although  there  be  that  are  called  gods  either 
in  heaven  or  on  earth  (for  there  be  gods  many  and  lords  many), 
yet  to  us  there  its  but  one  God." '  This  faith  was  preached  by 
tlie  apostles  in  the  great  cities  of  Asia,  Greece,  and  Italy,  beiore 
tiie  very  temples  of  the  false  gods,  and  in  the  early  ages  of 
Christianity  millions  of  Christians  gave  their  lives  to  acknowL 
o(l,'e  that  thera  was  but  one  God,  and  that  all  that  the  pagans 
called  gods  were  but  demons. 

Among  the  miracles  wrought  by  God  to  show  that  he  alone 
w.is  God,  we  have  recorded  that  striking  one  where  the  prophet 
Ellas  established  this  truth.  The  ten  revolted  tribes,  after  wor- 
shiping the  golden  calves,  had  taken  up  the  false  gods  of  the 
Chanaanites,  and  become  adort^rs  of  Baal.  Elias  met  the  wicked 
King  Achab,  and  when  the  people  were  assembled  said :  "  How 
long  do  you  halt  between  two  sides  ?  If  the  Lord  be  God,  fol- 
low him ;  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him."  He  then  told  them  to 
give  him  a  bullock,  and  the  priests  of  Baal  a  similar  victim.  He 
bade  the  priests  of  the  false  god  to  cut  their  victim  in  pieces  and 
lay  it  upon  wood,  and  he  did  the  same.  Neither  put  fire  to  the 
wood ;  that  was  to  come  from  heaven  as  a  sign  which  was  the 
true  faith.  "  Call  ye  on  the  names  of  your  gods,"  said  the 
prophet,  "  and  I  will  call  on  the  name  of  my  Lord ;  and  the  god 
that  shall  answer  by  fire,  let  him  be  God."  From  early  morn  to 
midday  the  priests  of  Baal  prayed  around  their  altar,  slashing 
their  bodies  with  knives  to  propitiate  their  god,  the  prophet 
taunting  them  all  the  while.  Then  he  poured  water  over  his 
own  victim  as  it  lay  on  the  wood  placed  on  an  altar  of  twelve 
stones  to  represent  the  tribes.  Again  and  again  he  drenched  his 
altar  and  offering  with  water,  the  people  wondering.  Then  he 
prayed :  "  O  Lord  God  of  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Israel,  show 
this  day  that  thou  art  the  God  of  Israel,  and  that  according  to 
thy  comtaandment  I  have  done  all  these  things.     Hea."  me,  O 


■{•ij 


1  Cor.  m.  4, 0. 


-E^?1 


b_  ^fefaii!^^ _;  ii^■l^  ^^'-.■. 


84 


GREAT  ABTIOLi  •«  OP  THE  OAUliLIO  FAITH. 


Lord,  hear  me;  that  this  peoplti  may  h-"  n  that  t»..-u  art  the 
Lord  God,  uiul  that  thou  hast  turned  their  hcArt  again."  Tli<'n 
the  hre  of  the  Lord  descended  and  cunsunied  the  victim  and  Hie 
wood  and  (  ■  very  stones  of  the  alliiv,  and  licked  up  the  Mater 
that  stood  in  tht  trench  around  tht  altar.  Convinced  ])y  lliiis 
striking  iiuacle,  the  people  ft  1  on  their  faces  and  cried,  *"J he 
Lord  he  is  God,  the  Lord  he  is  God.*' 

' ;  We  say  in  the  Creed,  "  I  believe  in  God,"  becauMe  we  are  riot 
only  to  believe  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  all  he  says  is  true, 
but  als  )  because  we  are  bound  to  commit  and  trust  ourselves  to 
God  with  love  and  confidence.  8t.  Augustine  pays,  with  gnat 
accuracy,  "  It  is  one  thi  ig  to  bt-lieve  God  ;  another  to  believe  lliat 
there  is  a  G(*d ;  still  another  to  believe  in  God."  To  believe  God 
is  to  regard  as  true  what  he  says ;  to  believe  that  there  is  a  God 
is  to  admit  his  existence;  finally, to  believe  in  God  is  to  combine 
love  and  faith.  It  is  an  easy  thing  to  believe  that  God  speaks 
the  truth  :  the  wicked  can  believe  this  aLuost  as  well  as  the  good. 
To  believe  that  there  is  a  God  is  what  even  the  devils  must  do. 
But  to  believe  in  God  is  the  lot  of  those  only  who  love  him,  who 
are  Caiifitians,  not  in  name  only,  but  in  fact  and  in  conduct.' 
Faith  then  not  only  subjects  our  intellect  to  God  as  the  infallible 
truth,  but  leads  us  to  love  God  as  the  sovereign  good,  and  to  tend 
to  him  as  to  our  last  end.  We  must  not,  however,  deduce  from 
this  that  faith  cannot  subsist  without  charity,  ior  the  Christian 
who  sins  and  consequently  loses  charity,  does  not  for  that  reason 
cease  -to  be  a  Christian ;  but  his  faith  is  dead  and  cannot  in  thia 
condition  enable  hirn  to  acquire  eternal  beatitude. 

There  is  only  one  God ;  the  worship  of  this  one  true  God  has 
for  centuries  banished  from  much  of  the  earth  that  polytheism  or 
worship  of  a  multitude  of  gods,  which  was  the  religion  of  the  most 
civilized  nations  of  antiquity.  The  torrents  of  blood  shed  by  the 
martyrs  have  extinguished  the  fire  which  burned  on  the  altars  of 
the  idols,  and  the  light  of  Christianity  has  put  to  flight  the  dark 
phantoms  which  received  public  adoration.  But  is  there  not  a 
profane  and  impious  fire  burning  in  the  secret  recesses  of  our  soul  ? 


'  Serm.  in  symb. 


Saint  Mary  Magdalen. 


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Is  all  idoL 
does  Terti 
a  temple, 
when  it  ] 
Are  we  al 
passions  f 
creature  v 
.than  you 
is  some  i 
some  tern] 
your  toil ; 
and  destii 
all  your  t' 
his  idol  01 
offer  to  yc 
into  so  shi 
"I  am  the 
fore  me ; 
shalt  not 
Let  us 
pressly  en 
God  in  th 
is  our  Fat 
soul  find  ] 
eign  Lord 
avenging 
adhere  to 
as  offendii 
Let  us  all 
souls;  it 
of  failing. 
"The  fear 
selves  of 
Peter  Fal 
of  a  great 

■Szod.xx, 


m, 


THE  mart  of  god.  8o 

Is  all  idolatry  banisBed  fronLour  heart  as  well  as  our  mind  7  Truly 
does  Tertullian  say :  "  Que  can  commit  idolatry  without  entering 
a  temple,  and  .with  no  visible  idol."  The  heart  commits  idolatry 
when  it  loves  a  creature  as  its  last  end,  as  a  dource  of  felicity. 
Are  we  always  exempt  from  this  refined  idolatry  ?  Have  not  our 
passions  set  up  a  multitude  of  divinities?  Your  god  is  some 
creature  whom  you  prefer  to  please  and  fear  to  displease  more 
than  you  do  the  Sovereign  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth.  Your  god 
is  some  pleasure  for  which  you  renounce  thd  joys  of  eternity ; 
some  temporal  good  to  which  you  devote  ail  your  care  and  all 
your  toil ;  a  handful  of  dust,  formed  for  a  time  into  a  human  body, 
and  destined  to  become  ere  long  the  sport  of  the  worms,  absorbs 
all  your  thoughts  and  all  your  desires.  The  pagan  burned  before 
his  idol  only  a  handful  of  incense ;  you,  perhaps,  says  Tertullian, 
offer  to  yours  your  mind,  your  heart,  your  exertions.  Not  to  fall 
into  so  shameful  an  idolatry,  let  us  often  remember  these  words : 
''  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God ;  thou  shalt  not  have  strange  gods  be* 
fore  me ;  thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any  graven  thing ;  thou 
shalt  not  adore  nor  serve  them."  * 

Let  us  endeavor  to  take  to  heart  what  the  pious  Tobias  ex* 
pressly  enjoined  upon  his  son :  "  All  the  days  of  thy  life,  have 
God  in  thy  mind,  and  take  heed  thou  never  consent  to  sin."  *  God 
is  our  Father ;  he  is  the  source  of  all  life ;  in  him  al%ne  can  our 
soul  find  rest,  consolation,  and  happiness.  He  is  also  the  Sover- 
eign Lord  Almighty  of  haaven  and  earth ;  we  can*hot  escape  his 
avenging  hand  if  we  depart  from  him  and  do  evil.  Let  us  then 
adhere  to  him,  love  him  above  all  things,  and  fear  nothing  so  much 
as  offending  him  by  sin,  thereby  losing  his  grace  and  friendship. 
Let  us  all  preserve  the  filial  love  of  God  engraven  deeply  in  our 
souls ;  it  will  strengthen  and  uphold  us  when  we  are  in  danger 
of  falling.  "  No  eNols  shall  happen  to  him  that  feareth  the  Lord."  * 
"  The  fear  of  the  Lord  driveth  out  sin."  *  "We  can  convince  our- 
selves of  this  by  what  is  related  of  two  holy  religious.  Blessed 
Peter  Faber  and  Anthony  Araoz.  They  directed  the  consciences 
of  a  great  many  personages  of  both  sexes,  at  the  court  of  the  Span- 


>i;xod.xx.8-«. 


•Tob.  iy.  e. 


■Gcclus.  xxziii.  1, 


*Ib.i.«7. 


86 


OBEAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


ish  king,  and  astonished  all  by  tbeir  insensibility  and  indifference 
toward  all  the  pleasures  and  greatness  of  that  brilliant  court. 
One  day  the  king  said  to  Araoz :  "  The  rumor  spreads  that  yoii 
carry  about  you  a  certain  herb  that  preserves  you  from  all  tempta- 
tions of  the  senses."  As  Araoz  laughingly  replied  that  there  was 
some  truth  in  that,  the  king  retorted :  "  On  your  life !  tell  me 
what  is  this  magical  plant ;  how  do  you  call  it  ? "  "  Sire,"  replied 
Araoz,  "  this  magical  herb  is  called  the  Fear  of  God.    It  has  the 
virtue  of  preserving  from  sin,  and  like  the  fish's  liver  laid  on  the 
coals  by  Tobias,  it  can  put  the  evil  spirits  to  flight."    Let  us  too 
employ  this  powerful  antidote.     Let  us  fear  nothing  so  much  as 
the  loss  of  God's  friendship.    Let  us  esteem  no  advantage  as  equal 
to  his  grace,  and  love  no  pleasure  so  much  as  the  happiness  of 
serving  him.    Then  no  seduction  will  be  so  powerful  as  to  make 
us  renounce  the  love  of  God.    Let  our  first  thought,  on  awak- 
ing in  the  morning,  be  to  pray  to  the  Lord  to  preserve  us  from 
all  sin.  Let  us  often  repeat,  during  the  day,  and  especially  in  the 
moment  of  temptation,  "  Lord,  do  not  permit  me  to  be  separated 
from  thee  I   Let  me-  rather  die  than  offend  thee."   Nor  let  us  sup- 
pose that  a  life  spent  in  the  fear  of  God  is  full  of  disquiet  and  un- 
easiness.   The  vain  fear  of  losing  riches  or  dignities,  and  the  ser- 
vile fear  which  trembles  only  at  the  thought  of  hell,  without  de 
testing  sinvare  painful,  overwhelming ;  but  it  is  not  so  with  the 
filial  fear,  which  makes  us  avoid  offending  the  best  of  fsihers. 
This  gladdens  the  soul,  touches  the  heart,  and  inspires  us  with  a 
blessed  confidence  for  the  hour  of  death.    The  spirit,  of  truth  de- 
clares it  in  the  Scriptures :  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  ia  honor  and 
glory,  and  gladness  and  a  crown  of  joy.    The  fear  of  the  Lord 
shall  delight  the  heart,  and  shall  give  joy  and  gladness,  and 
length  of  days.    With  him  that  feareth  the  Lord  it  shall  go  well 
in  the  latter  end,  and  in  the  day  of  his  death  he  shall  be  blessed."' 
The  Council  of  the  Vatican  declares :  "  The  Holy  Catholic  Apos- 
tolic Roman  Church  believes  and  confesses  that  there  is  one  true 
and  living  God,  creator  and  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth ;  almighty, 
eternal,  immense,  incomprehensible,  infinite  in  understanding,  and 
in  will,  and  in  every  perfection." 
_  •p^cius.i,  11-19,  '. 


THE  'iifBEB  DIVnrB  PEBSOITS  IS  ONE  OOD. 


87 


,  The  Thbee  Divine  Persons  in  One  God. 

The  next  of  the  great  truths  which  may  be  regarded  as  esseii' 
tial  to  salvation,  is  the  dogma  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  Under  the 
law  of  nature  '^^d  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  this  mystery  was  not 
explicitly  believed  by  the  faithful,  althbugh  implicitly  it  was. 
The  Old  Testament  speaks  of  the  Trinity  only  in  a  vague  and 
general  way.  Many  were  saved,  though  this  doctrine  had  not 
yet  been  clearly  revealed ;  but  under  the  New  Law,  when  the  * 
gospel  is  preached  throughout  the  world,  and  baptism  given 
everywhere  in  the  name  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  we  can  scarcely 
form  to  our  minds  circumstances  where  ignorance  of  this  great 
truth  can  be  free  from  guilt. 

While  polytheism  covered  the  face  of  the  earth  and  every  al- 
lurement enticed  the  children  of  Israel  from  the  faith  in  the  One 
True  God,  the  three  divine  persons  were  not  distinctly  nTade 
known;  and  the  Old  Testament  speaks  of  it  only, in  more  ob- 
scure terms.  Thus  in  Genesis,*  "  And  God  saw  that  it  was  good 
and  he  said :  Let  us  make  man  to  our  image  and  likeness."  The  . 
Book  of  Ecclesiasticus,  or  Ben-Sira,  is  rejected  by  the  Jews  since 
the  diffusion  of  Christianity,  because  in  more  than  one  place  it 
uses  language  which  can  be  explained  onlj;  of  the  Trinity.  Our 
divine  Lord  himself  cited  to  the  Jews  the  psalm  of  David,  "  The 
Lord  said  to  my  Lord :  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,"  and  asked 
them  ho\/  David  could  call  the  Messias  his  Lord,  when  he  was 
his  son  or  descendant,  compelling  them  to  admit  that  the  prom- 
ised Messias  was  both  God  and  man.  So  the  son  of  Sirach  says, 
"  I  called  upon  the  Lord,  the  father  of  my  Lord." ' 

The  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is,  that  there  are  in  God  three 
divine  persons,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost;  that 
the  Son  proceeds  from  the  Father ;  and  the  Holy  Ghost  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son.  That  these  three  persons  are  one  in  essence, 
equal  in  majesty ;  that  the  Father  is  God,  the  Son  God,  the  Holy 
Ghost  God,  and  yet  that  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  are 
bu«  one  God;  that  there  are  in^God  these  three  distinct  persons  * 


>  i.  25,  20. 


•EccluB.  li.  14. 


88 


OBEAT  ABTIOLIS  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


m 


having  identically  one  same  nature.  This  is  a  mystery  which 
unaided  human  reasdn  never  could  have  attained  had  not  God 
revealed  it. 

By  person  we  mean  a  reasbnable  being,  who  possesses  an  indl 
indual  existence  and  can  determine  his  own  action.  Thus  man 
is  a  person,  because  he  subsists  not  in  another  being,  but  in  his 
own  individuality,  and  is  consequently  master  of  his  actions.  But 
in  man  the  soul  is  not  a  person ;  it  has  not  an  existence  apart 
and  of  itself;  it  is  united  to  the  body  to  form  with  it  one  single 
being,  which  we  call  man.  On  the  oiher  hand,  human  nature, 
which  forms  a  person  when  it  subsists  independently  for  itself, 
joses  its  personality  by  its  union  with  the  Divine  Word  in  Jesus 
Christ,  because  it  receives  from  it  a  perfection  which  enables  it 
to  produce  acts  of  a  divine  value.  The  personality  of  a  being 
consists,  therefore,  in  not  being  united  to  any  other  being  which 
completes  it,  but  in  its  subsisting  independently  for  itself  and 
being  able  to  determine  its  action. 

When  we  acknowledge  three  persons  in  God  we  distinguish  in 
him  three  individualities,  subsisting  of  themselves  and  appearing 
as  capable  of  action.  The  holy  Sciipture  leaves  no  doubt  on  this 
point.  We  shall  cite  merely  the  following:  "Go  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy* Ghost."*  "There  art  three  who  give  testi- 
mony in  heaven :  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
these  three  are  one."  *  "  The  Paraclete,  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom 
the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  will  teach  you  all  things."* 

Three  persons  are  here  mentioned  who  are  consequently  dis- 
tinct from  each  other ;  for  where  there  is  number  there  is  also 
distinction.  The  moment  three  bearing  different  names  are  ap- 
pealed to  as  three  witnesses,  and  especially  when  one  is  pointed 
out  as  proceeding  from  another,  or  sent  by  him,  there  is  evidently 
a  distinction  between  them. 

Moreover,  all  three  appear  capable  of  distinct  action ;  for  to 
speak,  to  bear  testimony,  to  send,  are  acts  belonging  to  persons ; 
consequently,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  whom 


'  Matt  xxriii.  19. 


•  1  John  V.  7. 


'Johnziy.  26. 


THE  THBBB  DIYINB  PBI180NR  IN  ONE  OOD. 


89 


the  Scriptures  attribute  these  acts^  are  persons.  If  we  cannot 
doubt  the  personality  of  the  Father,  because  it  flows  from  all 
that  iiT  said  of  him ;.  it  is  the  same  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Uoly 
Ghost,  who  are  equaled  to  the  Father  in  the  formula  of  baptism, 
and  invoked  with  him,  as  the  term  "In  the  name"  indicates. 
Moreover,  the  Son  appears  as  a  person  so  clearly  in  numerous 
passages  of  Scripture  that  it  is  impossible  to  regard  him  as  a 
simple  manifestation  or  attribute  of  God.  The  Holy  Ghost  is 
represented  as  sent  by  the  Father  and  the  Sou,  consequently  as 
distinct  from  both ;  he,  therefore,  must  be  a  person  also. 

The  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  has  always  been  firmly  be- 
lieved in  the  Church ;  as  is  evinced  by  the  energy  with  which 
she  condemned,  in  her  very  origin,  heretics  who,  like  Praxeas, 
Noethus,  and  Sabellius,  dared  to  deny  this  article  of  faith.  Ter- 
tuUian  composed  a  work  expressly  to  refute  Praxeas,  who  was 
compelled  to  retract.  In  the  same  way,  St.  Hippolytus  combated 
Noethus,  who  was  excommunicated ;.  and  St.  Dionysius  of  Alexan- 
dria refuted  Sabellius.  Moreover,  two  synods,  held  at  Antioch,  in 
264  and  269,  condemned  the  new  heresy,  and  confirmed  the  primi- 
tive faith  of  the  Church  in  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 

We  will  mention  some  of  the  testimonies  of  the  most  ancient 
authors  and  Fathers  of  the  Church :  St.  Clement,  Pope,*  and  St. 
Ignatius,  the  martyr,  speak  expressly  of  the  three  persons  in  God. 
St.  Justin,  in  order  to  refute  the  pagans,  who  accused  the  Chris- 
tians of  atheism,  because  they  took  no  part  in  the  sacrifices  offered 
to  the  idols,  proves  that  Christians  honored  God  the  Father  "  as 
the  author  and  creator  of  the  universe,"  and  Jesus  Christ  his  true 
Son  and  the  Prophetic  Spirit.  This  holy  martyr  and  apologist 
for  the  Christian  faith  expressed  the  dogma  so  frequently,  and  so 
distinctly,  that  the  adversaries  of  Christianity  have  alleged  that 
Be  was  the  first  one  who  forced  Christians  to  believe  the  Trinity. 
Athenagoras,  a  contemporary  of  St.  Justin,  also  repelling  indig 
nantly  this  accusation  of  atheism,  exclaims :  "  Who  will  not  won- 
der to  hear  those  called  atheists  wbo  assert  that  the  Father  is  God, 
and  the  Son  God,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  demonstrate  their 


>  In  St.  Basil,  De  Spir.  Sancto,  cb,  zziz. 


40 


OBBAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


power  in  union  and  their  diBtinction  in  order?"  History  relates 
that  the  Christians  did  not  hesitate  to  confess  their  faith  in  the 
mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  before  judges  and  executioners.  In 
the  holy  Council  of  Nice  the  faith  in  this  mystery  was  solemnly 
defined  and  confirmed  against  Ariiis.  T  e  later  fathers  and  doc- 
tors have  proved,  developed,  and  illustrated  that  same  doctrine 
in  every  way.  They  usually  terminated  their  public  discourses 
with  a  doxology,  honoring  the  three  divine  persons. 

The  Father  is  truly  God.  He  exists  of  himself  from  all  eterni 
ty.  He  is,  therefore,  Q  od.  Jesus  Christ  says :  "  For,  as  the  Fathei 
hath  life  in  himself,  so  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in 
himself." »  «  Abba,  Father,  all  things  are  possible  to  thee."  "  1 
ascend  to  my  Father  and  to  your  Father,  to  my  God  and  to  your 
God."  •  It  was  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles.  St.  Peter  habitually 
speaks  of  him  as  "  God  the  Father,"  or  "  God  and  the  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  • 

The  Son  is  God.  St.  John,  in  his  sublitne  Gospel,  states  it  dis- 
tinctly :  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God."*  If  the  Word  was  in  the  begin- 
ning, he  is  eternal  and  therefore  God ;  if  he  is  eternally  with  the 
Father,  he  is  distinct  from  him  as  a  person  and  possesses  the  same 
nature  as  God.  St.  Thomas,  after  the  resurrection,  distinctly 
recognized  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  exclaiming :  ''  My  Lord 
and  my  God."  • 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  true  God.  This  the  Scriptures  distinctly 
declare  in  many  places.  St.  Peter  said  to  Ananias,  "  Why  haili 
Satan  tempted  thy  heart  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  .  .  .  .  Tbou 
hath  not  lied  to  men,  but  to  God."  * 

St.  John,  in  his  testimony  of  the  three  witnesses,  says  expressly, 
that  the  three  divine  persons  are  one  ;^  as  Jesus  Christ  has  said, 
"  I  and  the  Father  are  one."  •  The  Holy  Ghost  is  thus  clearly  God. 
So  St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Corinthians:*  "There  are  diversities 
of  ministries,  but  the  same  Lord ;  and  there  are  diversities  of 
operations,  but  the  same  God  who  worketh  all  in  all.     And  the 


■  John  ▼.  26. 

•John  XX.  17. 

» 1  Peter  i.  8.  See  Rom.  xv.  6 ;  2  Cor.  i.  8. 

«Johni.  1. 

*  John  XX.  28. 

*Actay.8.                  'lJobnTii.8. 

*  John  X.  80. 

•lOor.  xii.4,eto. 

createc 
in  the 
gotten 
thee." 
som^t 


THE  THBBU  DIYIKB  PBB80KB  IN  OITB  OOD. 


41 


manifestation  of  tbe  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man  unto  profit ;  to 
one  indeed,  by  the  Spirit,  is  given  the  word  of  wisdom ;  and  to 
another  the  word  of  knowledge,  according  to  the  same  Spirit." 
"  But  all  these  things  one  and  the  same  Spirit  worketh,  dividing 
to  every  one  according  as  he  will."  Here  the  giver  is  Called  God 
and  the  Spirit,  and  divine  perfections  are  ascribed  to  him.  They 
are  also,  in  1  Cor.  ii.  11,  where  the  same  apostle  says:  "  But  to 
us  God  hath  revealed  them  by  his  Spirit ;  for  the  Spirit  search- 
eth  all  things,  yea  the  deep  things  of  God.  For  what  man  know* 
eth  the  things  of  a  man,  but  the  spirit  of  a  man  that  is  in  him ) 
So  the  things  also  that  are  of  God,  no  one  knoweth  but  the  Spirit 
of  God."  The  nature  of  God  can  be  comprehended  only  by  a 
divine  person,  hence  the  Holy  Ghost  must  be  God. 

The  three  persons  are  but  one  God,  because  they  have  in  com- 
mon the  divine  nature,  one  and  indivisible.  Faith  teaches  us  that 
the  three  persons  have  not  similar  natures,  for  then  they  would 
be  three  Gods,  but  identically  the  same.  The  Father  is  God  be^ 
cause  he  possesses  the  divine  essence  or  nature ;  and  it  is  the  same 
with  the  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  The  Fourth  Council  of  Lateran 
teaches  expressly :  "  Each  of  the  three  persons  is  the  divine  sub- 
stance, essence,  or  nature." 

Each  person  possesses  all  the  divine  perfections.  St.  Athaua- 
sius,  in  his  Creed,  details  it  to  obviate  all  doubt.  ^'  The  Father  is 
eternal,  the  Son  is  eternal,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  eternal.  The  Father 
is  almighty,  the  Son  is  almighty,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  almighty ;  in 
the  Trinity  no  person  is  older  or  greater  than  the  other;  all  three 
are  equal  and  coeternal." 

The  Fourth  Lateran  Council  declares,  that  the  Father  is  of  him- 
self, that  the  Son  is  from  the  Father  only,  and  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  from  both.  The  Father  is  of  himself,  not  made,  nor  cre- 
ated, nor  begotten.  He  is  the  principle  of  all.  The  second  per- 
son is  begotten  of  the  Father.  "The  Son  has  not  been  made  nor 
created,  but  begotten,"  says  the  Athanasian  Creed.  The  Father 
in  the  second  Psalm  says,  "  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  I  have  be- 
gotten thee,"  and  in  Psalm  cix.,  "Before  the  daystar  I  begot 
theo."  The  holy  Scripture  calls  the  second  person  the  Son,  and 
sQm^times  the  Word, 


48 


ORSAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  OATROLIO  FAITH. 


The  Holy  Obost,  the  third  person,  is  not  made  nor  created,  nor  be- 
gotten, but  proceeds  from  the.  Father  and  the  Son.  That  the  Holy 
Ghost  proceeds  from  the  Father  has  never  been  doubted,  even 
by  those  who  denied  his  divinity :  "  When  the  Paraclete  shall 
come,  whom  I  shall  send  you  from  the  Father,  the  Spirit  of  Truth, 
wUo  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  he  will  bear  testimony  of  me."' 
Since  the  time  of  Photius,  the  Greek  Church,  which  prevails  in 
the  Russian  and  Turkish  empires,  has  denied  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  proceeds  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  but  they  contra- 
dict the  Scriptures  and  tradition.     Our  Lord  says  distinctly: 
*'  But  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  shall  come,  he  will  teach  you 
all  truth.    For  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself;  but  what  things 
soever  he  shall  hear,  he  shall  speak ;  and  the  things  that  are  to 
come  he  shall  show  you.     He  shall  glorify  me,  because  he  shall 
receive  of  mine  and  shall  show  it  to  you."    If  he  is  God  he  can- 
not receive  anything,  as  he  can  want  nothing ;  he  can  only  pro- 
ceed from  the  Son ;  and  our  Lord  says  that  he  will  send  him. 
This  sending  and  giving  is  implied  in  the  term  "  proceeds." 

All  the  tradition  of  the  Church  establishes  the  procession  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  from  the  Father  and  the  Son.  St.  Athanasius 
calls  the  Son  the  principle  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  says,  "  that 
the  Son  communicates  to  the  Holy  Ghost  what  the  Holy  Ghost 
has."*  St.  Chrysostom,  in  his  first  Homily  on  the  Creed,  says: 
"  Such  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  proceedeth  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  and  distributes  his  gifts  as  he  will."  St.  Gregory  of 
Nyssa  says :  ^'  The  Holy  Ghost  is  distinct  from  the  Son,  because 
he  is  (proceeds)  from  him."  • 

When  Macedonius  denied  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the 
Council  of  Constantinople  in  381  added  to  the  Nicene  Creed  the 
words :  "  The  Lord  and  giver  of  life,  who  proceedeth  from  the 
Father,  who  with  the  Father  and  the  Son  is  jointly  adored  and 
glorified,  who  spoke  by  the  prophets."  The  words  "  and  from 
the  Son  "  were  added  by  synods  in  Spain,  and  finally  adopted  in 
the  Second  Council  of  Lyons,  1274,  and  in  that  of  Florence,  1439, 
where,  with  the  consent  of  the  Greeks,  it  was  declared  an  article 


>  John  zv.  96.       *  Lib.  de  Trin. ,  n.  19.  Orat.  8 ;  contra  Arian,  2S,       *  Lib,  ad  Ablad, 


THB  THREE  DIVXirB  PERSONS  IN  ONE  OOD. 


48 


of  faith,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeds  from  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  as  from  a  simple  priuciple. 

Though  the  Son  is  begotten  of  the  Father,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  proceeds  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  the  three  divine 
persons  are  equally  ancient— that  is  to  say,  eternal — there  is  no 
difference  between  them  as  it  were  in  point  of  time,  although  fol« 
lowing  our  limited  human  words,  we  call  them  the  first,  second, 
and  third  persons  of  the  Blessed  Trinity ;  this  must  not  lead  us 
to  imagine  that  the  Father  ever  existed  without  the  Son,  or  the 
Father  and  Son  without  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  three  divine  persons  having  a  common  and  identical  na* 
ture,  act  exteriorly  in  an  inseparable  manner,  hence  the  manifes- 
tafcions  or  exterior  actions  of  God  belong  to  the  three  persons. 
However,  following  passages  of  Scripture,  we  ascribe  certain 
special  relations  to  the  world  to  each  of  the  three  persons. 

To  the  Father  are  attributed  the  works  of  omnipotence,  and 
especially  the  creation.  As  the  principle  of  all,  it  is  natural  that 
we  should  regard  the  Father  especially  as  the  source  of  all  created 
things — the  eternal  Father.  St.  Paul  ascribes  mercy,  especially 
to  the  first  person,  calling  him  "  the  Father  of  Mercies." ' 

To  the  Son  are  attributed  the  works  of  wisdom,  and  especially 
Redemption.  St.  John  says,  ''all  things  were  made  through 
him."  •  The  admirable  order  of  the  world  having  been  disturbed 
by  sin,  was  to  be  restored  by  Redemption.  As  the  primitive 
order  of  the  world  is  attributed  especially  to  the  Son,  it  must  be 
the  Same  with  its  restoration,  for  Redemption  also  is  a  work  of  su- 
preme wisdom.  Yet  the  Incarnation  is  not  attributed  to  the 
Son  in  the  same  sense  that  creation  is  attributed  to  the  Father. 
It  is  his  own  act;  for  it  is  the  person  of  the  Son,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  persons  of  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
united  itself  to  human  nature. 

To  the  Holy  Ghost  are  ascribed  the  works  of  love,  and  espe* 
cially  sanctification.  Love  is  the  fundamental  act  of  the  will, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  reciprocal  love  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son.    Love  manifests  itself  by  benefits,  by  acts  of  goodness; 


>8  0or.i.  8. 


'Johnl.  8t 


44 


ABSAT  ASnOLai  or  TBI  OATHOUO  rAITR. 


htince,  the  effects  of  God's  gooduess  aie  attributed  to  the  Holy 
Ghost  In  the  Creation  were  mauifeHted  omniputence  in  draw- 
ing being  out  of  nothing;  wisdom  in  establish iug  the  order  of 
the  world,  and  goodness  in  adding  other  benefits  to  the  great  one 
of  existence.  For  this  reason  the  life-giving  act  in  creation  is 
attributed  to  the  Holy  Ghost 

Besides  the  natural  life,  we  owe  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  according 
to  the  Scriptures,  the  more  precious  life  of  grace  "  What  is  born 
of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  what  is  born  of  the  spirit  is  spirit."' 
The  Apostle  ascnbes  to  the  action  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the  new 
and  spiritual  life  which  succeeded  the  death  of  sin  :  "And  sucli 
some  of  you  were ;  but  you  are  sanctified,  but  you  are  justified 
in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Spirit  of  our  God." ' 
Sanctification  is  especially  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  because 
it  is  the  principal  efifect  of  God'3  love  for  creatures. 

The  myster}'  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is  above  human  reason.  It  is 
impossible  for  our  feeble  reason,  which  knows  created  beings  only 
imperfectly,  to  comprehend  a  mystery  like  the  Holy  Trinity, 
which  is  infinitely  above  all  that  is  created.  The  holy  Script- 
ures themselves  teach  us,  that  but  for  revelation  we  should  have 
no  knowledge  of  this  mystery.  "No  one  knoweth  the  Son  but 
the  Father ;  neither  doth  any  one  know  the  Father  but  the  Son, 
and  he  to  nvhom  it  shall  please  the  Son  to  reveal  him."  •  With- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  that  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  is  impossible.  Therefore  St.  Hilar}-,  speaking  of  this 
mystery,  says:  "The  Church  knows  it;  the  Synagogue  doth 'not 
understand  it;  philosophy  doth  not  understand  it"  There  are 
indeed  in  the  Old  Testament  indications  or  allusions  to  the  mys- 
tery of  the  Trinity ;  but  the  complete  knowledge  of  this  mystery 
was  not  granted  to  the  synagogue,  it  was  reserved  to  the  Church. 

We  must  admit,  with  St  Thomas  Aquinas,  that  human  reason, 
left  to  itself,  can  know  God  only  as  he  is  manifested  by  creation, 
and  thus  the  acts  being  of  the  three  divine  persons  in  common, 
cannot  lead  to  a  knowledge  of  the  three  distinctly,  but  only  to 
the  unity. 


John  Hi. «. 


•lCor.vi.tl. 


•Matt.  xi.  27. 


THV  THRSV  DIVINK  PSR80HS  IN  ONI  OOD. 


40 


Even  since  it  has  been  revealed  it  is  impossible  to  prove,  by 
reason  only,  that  there  must  V)e  three  persons  in  God.  The 
Fourth  Lateran  Council  calls  the  mystery  ^^incomprehensible ant 
iiiejfahle,^^  "No  creature,"  says  Pope  Uormisdas,  "can  ever 
fiithom  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity."  St.  Ambrose  also  says: 
"  It  is  impossible  to  understand  the  generation  of  the  Divine 
Word ;  sense  refuses ;  the  voice  is  silent.'* 

Hence  all  the  arguments  from  reason  in  favor  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  are  rather  to  show  that  the  revealed  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  is  not  opposed  to  reason;  for  though  the  mystery  is 
above  reason  it  is  not  contrary  to  it.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
of  persons  rests  on  the  authority  of  God,  and  consequently  can- 
not be  in  contradiction  with  any  principle  recognized  by  reason. 
There  is  no  contradiction  in  saying  tliat  God  is  one  in  nature 
and  three  in  person.  There  is  nothing  incompatible  in  the  idea 
of  God  the  Father.  He  says  in  Isaias,  "Shall  not  I  that  make 
others  to  bring  forth  children,  myself  bring  forth?  saith  the 
Lord.  Shall  I  that  give  generation  to  others  be  barren  I  saith 
the  Lord  thy  God."  > 

Reason  gave  some  of  the  Holy  Fathers  comparisons  to  explain 
the  Holy  Trinity,  or  enable  us  to  understand  it.  St.  Augustine 
finds  terms  of  comparison  in  the  three  faculties  of  the  soul,  will, 
memory,  and  understanding.  These  three  faculties  su^^aist  in 
one  and  the  same  soul,  in  one  and  the  same  substance;  and 
although  the  memory  is  distinct  from  the  understanding  and  the 
will,  it  is  still  simply  the  soul  acting  through  these  three  facul- 
ties. Yet  the  comparison  fails,  for  the  three  faculties  are  not 
three  distinct  persons. 

It  is  the  same  with  other  comparisons,  such  as  that  of  a  spring, 
a  stream  flowing  from  it,  and  water  in  a  vessel  drawn  from  it. 
It  is  all  the  same  water,  yet  the  three  are  distinct. 

As  nothing  in  creation  can  give  an  exact  idea  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  Christian  art  has  always  found  it  difficult  to  symbolize 
it.  In  the  mediaeval  churches  it  was  figured  by  the  letters  Y 
and  T,  a  single  letter  formed  of  three  branches,  or  by  the  trefoil 


Tsa.  Izt!.  0. 


46 


OKBAT  ABTI0LB8  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


^S-- 


w)iich  St.  Patrick  is  traditionally  said  to  have  employed  in 
explaining  the  mystery.  The  equilateral  triangle  is  less  accurate 
because  there  is  no  central  point,  and  this  is  supplied  by  the  all- 
seeing  eye,  or  the  name  of  God. 

The  knowledge  of  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is  of  great 
importance  to  us.  It  should  awaken  and  increase  our  faith,  hope 
and  charity.  It  enables  us  to  direct  our  gaze  into  the  very 
depths  of  the  Godhead ;  it  shows  God  to  our  minds  as  incom- 
prehensible,  and  so  leads  us  to  believe  wun  lumble  submission 
what  he  has  revealed.  It  reanimates  our  hope,  because  it  gives 
us  the  assurance  that  we  shall  one  day  partake  of  the  happiness 
of  a  thrice  holy  God.  And  as  we  learn  by  this  mystery  to  know 
God  as  the  infinitely  perfect  Being,  we  also  begin  to  love  him  as 
the  Sovereign  Good.  The  intimate  union  of  the  three  divine 
persons  should  be  the  type  of  our  union,  for  our  Lord  prayed 
that  his  disciples  might  all  be  one,  as  he  and  the  Father  were 
one.* 

If  we  consider  the  Holy  Trinity  in  its  relations  with  the  world, 
the  Father  reminds  us  of  the  creation,  the  Son  of  Redemption, 
the  Holy  Ghost  of  our  sanctification.  Hence  the  constant  chant  of 
the  Church,  "  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Hence  the  selection  of  the  first  day  of  the  week 
to  hon^t  the  Father,  beginning  the  work  of  creation,  the  Son 
rising  from  the  tomb  accomplishing  our  redemption,  the  Holy 
Ghost  descending.  "We  may  even  say,  that  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Trinity,  we  would  not  know  Christianity,  for  Chris- 
tianity rests  on  the  redemption  wrought  by  the  Son,  the  satisfac- 
tion oflfered  to  the  Father,  and  the  eflPusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
on  the  Church.  Hence  baptism  is  conferred  in  the  name  of  the 
Holy  Trinity.  Justly  then  is  this  dogma  called  the  fundamental 
one  of  Christianity,  so  that  whoso  denies  or  rejects  it,  therefore 
really  denies  and  rejects  Christianity.    ^  ^  -  ^  ^  ^^i^^^^    :; 

We  must  therefore  openly  and  freely  confess  this  doctrine  and 
make  it  an  object  of  our  devotion.  The  sign  of  the  cross  will 
thus  become  a  grand  and  absorbing  prayer.    St.  Francis  Xavier 


'  John  xvii.  20,  81, 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  AND  LOVE  OF  OOD. 


47 


was  so  imbued  with  this  devotion,  that  on  his  apostolic  journeys 
in  the  East,  he  constantly  exclaimed,  "  O  Holy  Trinity  I "  The 
very  heathen,  touched  with  the  fervor  with  which  he  uttered  the 
words  in  Latin,  repeated  them  in  their  trials  and  dangers,  even 
without  a  full  knowledge  of  their  meaning.  Once  a  vessel,  on 
which  the  saint  was,  encountered  a  furious  storm,  and  they  all 
expected  to  perish;  but  when  the  saint  uttered  the  words, 
"  Great  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  have  mercy  on  us  I " 
the  ocean  suddenly  became  calm.    *:    -  ;       ^  '■ 

We  should,  like  this  great  saint,  make  this  great  mystery  a 
special  devotion,  especially  on  Sunday,  and  above  all  others,  on 
Trinity  Sunday  and  the  portion  of  the  year  that  follows  till  Ad- 
vent; but  in  our  daily  devotions,  at  every^sign  of  the  cross,  we 
should  renew  our  faith  in  this  mystery,  our  hope  in  the  redemp- 
tion purchased  by  the  Son  ind  offered  to  the  Father,  and  con- 
veyed to-  us  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  our  love,  which  should  unite 
us  to  the  blessed  Trinity  as  the  Holy  Ghost  the  love  of  the 
Father  and  the  Son  unites  them  indissolubly  together. 

"Taken  with  all  its  array  of  manifold  devotions,  the  Church 
worships  the  Holy  Trinity  with  such  magnificently  expansive 
freedom,  and  such  large  variety,  that  we  can  hardly,  even  in  our 
imagination,  embrace  it  in  one  view." 


The  Knowledge  and  Love  of  God. 

"  It  is  beyond  the  power  of  men  or  angels  to  give  an  adequate 
or  appropriate  title  to  the  supreme  excellence  of  God,  which,  in 
perfect  unity,  includes  and  excels  all  existing  perfections  possi- 
ble and  irLaginable,"  says  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  doctor  of  the 
Church.  "  We  read  in  the  Apocalypse  that  the  Lord  has  a  name 
'  which  no  man  knoweth  but  himself.'  " '  He  alone  can  perfectly 
comprehend  his  own  infinite  perfection  and  give  it  an  appropri- 
ate name.  On  this  account  the  ancients  contended  that  there 
could  be  no  real  theologian  but  God,  because  no  one  else  could 
understand  the  infinity  of  the  divine  perfection,  or  render  it 
intelligible  to  others. 

'         -   :  '  Apop.  xix.  18.     ,  ; 


48 


enSAT  ARTZOLBS  07  THE  OATHOLIO  9AITH. 


This  sentimeut  corresponds  with  the  answer  given  to  the  father 
of  Samson,  when  he  asked  the  angel  to  declare  to  him  his  name. 
This  ambassador  of  heaven,  who  represented  the  Almighty,  re- 
plied: "Why  askest  thou  my  name,  which  is  wonderful?"*  as  if 
to  say:  "My  name  cannot  be  uttered  by  mortal  tongue;  be  satis- 
fied  to  admire  and  deem  it  a  duty  to  respect  it.  I  alone  have  tlio 
power  to  pronounce  the  name  which  expresses  my  excellence,  be- 
cause to  me  only  is  it  given  to  comprehend  its  meaning." 

Our  understanding  is  too  limited  to  comprehend  the  immensity 
of  the  divine  excellence,  which  being  in  itself  one  simple  perfec- 
tion, nevertheless  includes  every  species  of  perfection,  without 
confusion  or  limitation,  in  a  manner  so  eminent,  and  at  the  same 
time  so  simple  that  it  baffles  the  penetration  of  the  human  mind. 
Therefore,  in  speaking  of  God  we  are  obliged  to  have  recourse 
to  a  multiplicity  of  titles,  and  sometimes  to  call  him  wise,  then 
good,  almighty,  faithful,  just,  holy,  infinite,  immortal,  invisible, 
etc;  these  terms  are  correct,  for  God  always  possesses  whatever 
perfections  we  attribute  to  him,  and  infinitely  more ;  because  lie 
possesses  them  in  so  eminent,  so  excellent,  and  so  simple  a  de- 
gree, that  whatever  beruty,  goodness,  and  power  exist  in  all  kinds 
of  perfections  form  in  the  Almighty  only  one  perfection. 

O  God,  abyss  of  all  perfections  I  how  wonderful  art  thou,  to 
combine  them  all  in  one,  and  that  in  so  perfect  a  manner  as  to 
be  incomprehensible  to  any  other  than  thyselfl  In  speaking  of 
the  Almighty,  says  the  sacred  text :  "  We  shall  say  much,  and  yet 
shall  want  wordd ;  but  the  sum  of  our  words  is,  he  is  in  all,"  and 
all  in  all  things.  "  What  shall  we  be  able  to  do  to  glorify  him  ? 
for  the  Almighty  himself  is  above  all  his  works.  Glorify  the 
Lord  as  much  as  ever  you  can,  for  he  will  yet  far  exceed,  and  his 
magnificence  is  wonderful.  Blessing  the  Lord,  exalt  him  as  much 
as  ever  you  cftn,  for  he  is  above  all  praise.  When  you  exalt  him 
put  forth  all  your  strength,  and  be  not  weary,  for  you  cau  never 
go  far  enough."' 

No,  we  shall  never  comprehend  him,  since,  as  St.  John  says : 
"  God  is  greater  than  our  heart."  *   But  let  us  not  be  discouraged ; 


*  Judges  ziii.  18. 


*Ecc1UB.  xliii.  29,  80,  83^. 


■  1  John  iii.  20. 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  AND   LOVE  OF  OOD. 


48 


"let  us  praise  him  with  all  our  po^  ;3;  and  when  we  shall  have 
exhausted  all  our  homage,  let  us  acknowledge  that  he  can  never 
he  sufficiently  loved  and  praised.  Let  us  call  him  by  the  most 
exalted  titles  we  can  conceive  or  pronounce,  but  let  us  at  the 
same  time  confess  that  his  name  is  above  all  names;  that  we  can* 
not  utter  one  worthy  of  his  infinite  greatness,  and  this  will  be  the 
name  most  appropriate  to  his  magnificence."  * 

Our  earliest  lesson  on  religion  taught  us  that  we  were  to  know 
God,  and  inadequate  as  the  knowledge  may  be  that  we  can  ob- 
tain of  his  infinite  greatness  and  perfection,  we  can  obtain  suffi> 
cient  and  more  than  sufficient  for  the  end  in  view,  that  is,  to  love 
God  and  serve  God.  Our  knowledge  must  not  be  a  sterile  one ; 
it  must  help  us  to  an  ardent  love  of  God,  for  this  is  tbe  first  and 
greatest  comniandment :  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  thy  whole  heart,  and  with  thy  whole  soul,  and  with  thy 
whole  mind."* 

"Though  we  cannot  by  our  natural  inclination  alone  attain  to 
the  love  of  God  above  all  things,  yet  it  is  certain  that  the  Al- 
mighty is  easily  moved  to  compassionate  our  miseries ;  that  any 
one  who  faithfully  cherishes  this  laudable  inclination  will  receive 
from  God  the  assistance  necessary  for  enabling  him  to  rise  supe- 
rior to  the  weakness  of  human  nature,  and  that  his  fidelity  to  a 
first  inspiration  of  grace  will  infallibly  induce  the  paternal  good- 
ness of  God  to  bestow  a  second ;  he  will  thus  be  gradually  led 
to  that  love  of  preference  to  which  our  natural  inclinations  tend, 
but  which  we  cannot  attain  of  ourselves.  God  never  refuses  his 
divine  assistance  to  those  who  prove  their  desire  to  advance  in  the 
path  of  perfect  charity  by  the  fervent  discharge  of  their  duties. 

"  Man  has  not  preserved  in  vain  his  natural  inclination  to  love 
God  above  all  things ;  for  in  the  first  place,  this  inclination  is 
the  efficacious  means  which  God  employs  to  attract  our  hearts, 
and  to  take  possession  of  their  affections  without  ofl^ering  them 
violence.  It  may  be  called  an  invisible  chain,  by  which  he  cap- 
tivates our  hearts  and  draws  them  to  himself.  Secondly,  with 
regard  to  man,  this  inclination  serves  to  remind  him  of  his  origin. 


■  St  Francis  de  Sales,  on  the  Love  of  God,  book  ii.,  ch.  i. 
*Matt.  zzii.  87;  Deut.  vi.  5. 


\,Ji,i*^ 


«^"v .  ^■i^'Tr^rj-  .wipj 


"^  f!W:«f >";" 


e%) 


OKEAT  ARTl   LES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


and  secretly  whispers  that  he  is  the  possession  of  the  sovereign 
and  infinite  goodness."  ^ 

The  lore  of  man  for  God  derives  its  origin,  its  progress,  and 
its  perfection,  from  the  eternal  love  of  God  for  man.  This  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church,  which  requires  her  children  to 
acknowledge  themselves  indebted  only  to  the  mercy  of  their 
"  Redeemer  for  then*  salvation,  so  that  all  honor  and  gloiy  may 
s^i^  be  rendered  to  him  on  earth  as  well  as  in  heaven."' 

That  the  motives  which  should  prompt  us  to  love  God  may 
make  a  lively  impression  on  our  minds,  and  enkindle  an  ardent 
love  in  our  hearts,  we  should  first  considei-  one  in  a  general  man- 
ner and  then  apply  it  to  ourselves  individually.  For  example, 
we  may  consider  the  infinite  goodness  ot  God,  who  has  given  his 
beloved  Son  for  the  redemption  of  mankind,  and  for  each  of  us 
'  in  particular;  we  may  reflect  on  the  love  of  his  divine  Son,  which 
urged  him  to  deliver  himself  to  death  for  each  one  of  us.  Sec- 
ondly, we  should  consider  the  benefits  of  God  in  their  primitive 
and  eternal  origin,  which  will  pioduce  ••  flections  like  these.  How 
can  we  correspond,  O  n.y  God,  with  the  love  thou  hast  testified 
for  us  before  all  ages  ?  The  design  of  creating,  preserving,  re- 
deeming, and  glorifying  all  men  in  general,  and  each  in  partic- 
ular, has  had  no  otther  commencement  than  thyself.  I  was  once 
plunged  in  the  abyss  of  original  nothing;  even  now  I  am  but  a 
worm  of  the  earth,  unworthy  that  thou  shouldst  even  look  on 
me.  Yet  thou  hast  thought  of  me  from  all  eternity,  and  resolved 
to  exercise  thy  goodness  toward  me.  Before  the  commencement 
of  time  thou  hast  foreseen  and  determined  the  moment  of  my 
birth ;  that  of  my  spiritual  regeneration  by  baptism ;  the  bene- 
fits, inspirations,  and  spiritual  helps  destined  for  me;  and  the 
precise  moment  in  which  each  was  to  be  dispensed.  O  incom- 
prehensible goodness  I 

We  should  in  the  third  place  consider  the  benefits  of  God  in 
Jesus  Christ,  who  is,  after  the  divine  goodness  from  which  they 
originally  proceed,  the  second  source  from  which  they  derive  their 
merit.    The  high-priest  in  the  old  law  carried  on  his  shoulders 

'  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  on  tbe  Love  of  God,  book  i.,  chap,  zviii. 
*  lb.  book  ii.,  cbap.  vi. 


THE  KNOWLEDOB  Aim  LOVE  OF  OOD. 


01 


and  heart  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel ;  that  is,  precious 
stones,  on  which  were  engraved  the  names  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
twelve  tribes.  In  this  respect  he  was  a  figure  of  Jesus  Christ, 
who,  as  our  true  High-Priest  and  first  Pastor,  placed  us  on  his 
shoulders  from  the  first  moment  of  his  conception,  and  likewise 
on  his  heart,  by  consenting  to  redeem  us  at  the  great  price  of  a 
cruel  and  ignominious  death  on  the  cross. 

Each  of  us  was  as  present  to  the  mind  of  our  divine  Bedeemer 
at  that  moment  as  if  he  alone  were  to  bef  redeemed.  At  the  time 
of  his  sacred  Passion,  he  offered  his  tears,  his  prayers,  his  blood, 
and  his  life,  for  all  in  general,  and  for  each  in  particular.  He 
thought  of  you,  he  suffered  for  you ;  his  love  for  you  prompted 
bim  to  say  to  his  eternal  Father,  "  I  take  on  myself  the  iniqui- 
ties of  this  sinner  in  particular;  I  willingly  endure  the  death 
he  merits ;  strike  me,  O  my  Father,  but  spare  him.  Let  me  die, 
provided  he  live ;  let  me  expire  on  a  cross,  provided  he  be  glori- 
fied in  heaven  I "  O  sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  I  source  of  sovereign 
love,  who  can  ever  thank  thee  sufficiently,  or  render  thee  love  for 

love?     ■   '  --^'■■:  '^'     ■-■  ''-'-■•: '"'y^-.'^v'^y-T''  ■-''.\.":-iT 

This  sovereign  Friend  of  man  merited  and  implored,  by  his 
prayers  and  sufferings,  all  the  benefits  we  enjoy ;  his  love,  which 
surpasses  that  of  the  most  tender  mother,  prepared  for  us  the  milk 
of  divine  consolations  and  heavenly  inspirations,  by  which  he  de- 
signed, at  a  future  period,  to  attract  us  to  his  service,  and  to  con- 
duct us  to  eternal  life.  If  we  desire  that  the  benefits  of  God  should 
inflame  us  with  love  for  our  sovereign  Benefactor,  we  should  con- 
sider them  in  the  divine  will,  which  has  prepared  them  from  eter- 
nity, and  in  the  heart  of  our  divine  Saviour,  who  has  merited  them 
by  his  sufferings  and  death.  ^ 

"  O  eternal  love  I  my  soul  sighs  for  thee,  and  chooses  thee  for 
its  eternal  inheritance.  O  spirit  of  charity !  enkindle  in  our  hearts 
the  ardors  of  thy  love.  To  die  to  every  other  affection  in  order 
to  live  by  the  love  of  Jesus  is  the  means  of  avoiding  eternal  death. 
Grant  us  the  grace  to  live  in  thy  love,  and  to  adore  thee  eternally, 
O  most  admirable  Jesus,  the  only  object  worthy  of  our  affections." ' 


'  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  on  the  Love  of  Ood. 


63 


OBXAT  ABTI0LE8  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


Cepation — ^Thb  Angels — Fbee  Will — Sin — Heaven — Hell. 

God,  in  his  omnipotence  and  wisdom,  created  angels,  men,  the 
visible  world.  "  As  creatures  we  are  surrounded  with  creatures 
in  the  world.  Above  us  and  beneath  us  and  around  us  there  are 
creatures  of  manifold  sorts,  and  of  varying  degrees  of  beauty.  The 
earth  beneath  our  feet  and  the  vast  sidereal  spaces  above  us,  are 
all  teeming  with  created  things.  When  we  come  to  reflect  upon 
them,  we  are  almost  bewildered  with  their  number  and  diversity, 
on  the  earth,  in  the  water,  and  in  the  air,  visible  and  invisible, 
known  to  science  or  unknown.  Then  religion  teaches  us  that  we 
are  lying  on  the  mighty  bosom  of  another  world  of  spiritual  creat- 
ures, the  angels  whom  we  do  not  see,  and  yet  with  whom  we  are 
in  hourly  relations  of  brotherhood  and  love.  The  realms  of  spirit 
encompass  us." 

God,  in  creating  angels  and  men,  endowed  them  with  free  will. 
This  was  a  terrible  power  committed  to  the  hands  of  a  creature ; 
its  exercise  leading  either  to  the  most  inconceivable  happiness  or 
misery  that  surpasses  all  created  intelligence. 

**  The  angels  looked  at  God  in  all  the  beauty  of  his  loving  do- 
minion, and  then  they  looked  at  self  with  its  enticing  liberty,  and 
forthwith  one  whole  multitude,  a  third  of  that  vast  empire,  ten 
million  times  ten  million  spirits,  a  very  universe  of  loveliness  and 
gifts  and  graces,  made  their  irremediable  choice,  and  in  the  mad- 
ness of  their  liberty,  leaped  into  the  stunning  war  of  the  fiery 
whirlpool,  far  away  from  the  meek  paternal  majesty  of  God.  The 
angels  could  not  complain.  They  had  had  a  marvelous  abun- 
dance of  love.  The  gifts  of  their  nature  were  something  l)eyond 
our  power  of  imagining.  They  were  so  bright  and  vast  and  sure, 
as  to  be  almost  a  security  against  their  fall.  They  had  been  cre- 
ated in  a  state  of  grace,  and  doubtless  of  the  most  exquisite  and 
resplendent  grace."  All  this  they  forfeited  by  a  single  act  of  the 
will.    They  disobeyed  God.  ■  ^--       '     ■   i        F^:'     / 

By  this  act  a  new  and  terrible  element  entered  into  the  rela- 
tions between  God  and  his  creatures — Sin.  As  their  Creator  and 
Sovereign  Lord,  God  claimed  the  perfect  obedience  of  the  angels ; 
though  endowed  with  the  highest  gifts  and  graces,  some  refused 


OBBATION— THE  ANGELS— FBISB  WILL— BtK^HEAYEN— HELL.      08 


to  obey.  This  constituted  the  first  sin.  **  Next  to  a  practical 
knowledge  of  God,  there  is  nothing  which  it  more  coneems  us  to 
know  and  to  realize  than  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin.  The 
deeper  that  knowledge  is,  the  higher  will  be  the  fabric  of  our  holi* 
ness.  Hence  a  true  understanding  of  the  overwhelming  guilt  and 
shame  of  sin  is  one  of  God's  greatest  gifts.  It  is  by  the  height  of 
God's  perfections  that  we  measure  the  depths  of  sin.  Its  oppo^ 
sition  to  his  unspeakable  holiness,  the  amount  of  its  outrage  againsi 
his  glorious  justice,  and  the  intensity  of  his  hatred  of  it,  are  mani- 
fested by  his  punishment  of  it,  and  by  the  infinity  of  the  sacrifice 
which  he  has  required  to  repair  it  in  man." 

The  angels  were  the  noblest  and  most  gifted  creatures  that  ever 
came  from  the  hands  of  God.  A  single  sin  was  enough  to  damn 
beyond  all  remission  those  spirits  who  committed  it.  A  host  of 
that  creation  of  purest  light  refused  to  adore  the  Incarnate 
Word,  and  all  the  graces  vanished,  the  gifts  became  but  means 
of  suffering. 

Then  began  the  reward  of  the  good,  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked.  God  exercises  his  goodness  and  his  justice.  The  angels 
who  had  shown  their  fidelity,  who,  tried  and  tested,  used  their 
free  will  to  employ  all  their  graces  and  gifts  to  honor  and  obey 
their  Creator,  were  rewarded  with  heaven  and  its  glories. 

Heaven,  and  what  is  heaven  ?  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  ear  hath 
not  heard,  nor  hath  it  entered  into  the  mind  of  man  to  conceive 
what  God  has  laid  up  for  those  who  love  him."  To  see,  love, 
and  enjoy  God  forever ;  the  beauty  ever  ancient  and  ever  new ; 
the  Creator  of  all  that  is  lovely  and  delightful  and  attractive,  of 
all  that  can  please  the  heart  and  the  mind ;  in  himself,  the  source 
and  fountain  of  all.  Heaven  is  "to  bejiold  in  living  radiance,  in 
the  light  of  its  own  incomprehensibility,  in  the  sliapeliness  of 
its  own  immensity,  infinite  light  and  infinite  power,  infinite  wis- 
dom with  infinite  sweetness,  infinite  joy  and  infinite  glory,  infi- 
nite majesty  with  infinite  holiness,  infinite  riches  with  an  infinite 
sea  of  being ;  to  behold  him  not  only  containing  all  real  and  all 
imaginary  and  all  possible  goods,  but  containing  them  in  the 
most  eminent  and  unutterable  manner,  and  not  only  so,  but  con- 
taining them  in  the  unity  of  a  most  transcending  and  majestic 


54 


OBEAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


«iraplicity."  To  behold  the  mystery  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  the 
sacred  humanity  of  the  Son,  the  immaculate  Virgin  Mother,  the 
angels  and  the  saints,  to  be  bound  up  in  the  closest  union  with 
all  that  created  nature  has  of  purest  and  holiest,  this  is  heaven. 

The  eternal  felicity  of  heaven  was  granted  to  the  faithful 
angels  as  a  reward  of  their  merit.  It  is  always  granted  on  this 
condition ;  if  it  were  purely  a  gratuitous  gift  of  God,  it  would 
not  be  complete.  God  so  confirmed  these  blessed  angels  in  good 
that  they  could  not  sin,  nor  consequently  lose  the  happiness  of 
heaven.  They  enjoy  a  perfect  happiness  which  the  Scriptures 
tell  us  will  endure  forever.  If  this  felicity  could  cease  it  would 
not  deserve  its  name ;  for  the  perspective  of  its  short  duration 
would  constantly  awaken  in  the  heart  doubt  and  fear. 

To  the  blessed  spirits  in  heaven  there  is  no  obscurity,  no  dark- 
ness, such  as  hangs  about  the  Divinity  to  us  now ;  but  all  is 
light  and  immense  serenity,  although  they  are  not  fully  able  to 
comprehend  it.  There  is  their  eternal  mansion,  with  a  tranquil 
security  that  they  shall  never  fail.  There  is  the  heaven  of 
heavens,  in  comparison  with  which  all  creation  is  but  dro8S. 
There  is  the  fulfilling  of  all  their  desires ;  there  the  possession 
and  fruition  of  all  things  that  are  desirable.  There  nothing  will 
remain  to  be  longed  for,  or  sought  for  more ;  for  all  will  firmly 
possess  and  exquisitely  enjoy  every  good  thing  in  God.  Tlieie 
the  whole  occupation  of  the  saints  will  be  to  contemplate  the 
iiifinite  beauty  of  God,  to  love  his  infinite  goodness,  to  enjoy  his 
infinite  sweetness,  to  be  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  torrent  of 
his  pleasures,  and  to  exult  with  an  unspeakable  delight  in  his 
infinite  glory,  and  in  all  the  goods  which  he  and  they  possess. 
Hence  come  perpetual  praise  and  benediction  and  thanksgiv- 
ing; and  thus  all  the  blessed,  amved  at  the  consummation  of 
their  desires,  and  knowing  not  what  more  to  crave,  rest  in  God 
as  their  last  end.  >  ,      - 

To  the  rebellious  angels  was  meted  out  their  portion  in  hell. 
Hell,  the  word  of  terror ;  the  living  witness  of  the  wrath  and 
justice  of  God.  "  A  fire  is  kindled  in  ray  wrath,"  says  God,  through 
his  servant  Moses,  ''  and  shall  burn  even  to  the  lowest  hell.'' ' 

*  Dent,  xxxii.  22. 


OBSATION— THE  ANOlDra-^'] 


WILL— SHr— HEAVXN— BBUL     09 


"Which  of  you,"  says  the  prophet  Isaias,  "can  dwell  with 
devouring  fire!  Which  of  you  shall  dwell  with  everlasting 
burnings?"*  And  this  "everlasting  fire,"  our  Lord  himself 
tells  us,'  was  "  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  There 
those  fallen  spirits  suffer  not  only  pain,  remorse,  but  the  great 
sense  of  loss  of  the  beatific  vision,  "  who  shall  sufiler  eternal 
punishment  in  destruction  from  the  face  of  the  Lord  and  the 
glory  of  his  power."  • 

This  terrible  state  of  punishment  has  been  acknowledged  in 
all  ages  and  all  nations.  Some  of  the  wicked  try  to  blind  them- 
selves to  the  truth,  but  they  only  confirm  it.  The  most  savage 
nations  believe  in  fallen  spirits  and  the  place  of  punishment, 
which  the  wicked  of  our  own  race  must  share. 

The  thought  of  heaven  and  hell  should  never  be  far  from  our 
minds ;  and  we  should,  especially  in  view  of  the  dangers  that 
surround  us,  often  ponder  upon  its  fearful  reality.  "  There  is," 
says  Faber,  "an  awful  beauty  about  that  kingdom  of  eternal 
chastisement;  there  is  a  shadow  cast  upon  its  fires,  which  we 
admire  even  while  we  tremble,  the  shadow  of  the  gigantic  pro« 
portions  of  a  justice  which  is  omnipotent ;  there  is  an  austere 
grandeur  about  the  equity  of  God's  vindictive  wrath,  which 
makes  us  nestle  closer  to  him  in  love,  even  while  we  shudder  at 
the  vision.  But  to  us  who  live  and  strive,  who  have  grace  given 
us,  and  yet  have  the  power  of  resisting  it ;  who  have  room  for 
penance,  but  are  liable  to  relapse ;  who  are  right  now,  but  can 
at  any  time  go  wrong ;  who  can  doubt  that  hell  is  a  pure  mercy, 
a  thrilling  admonition,  a  solemn  passage  in  God's  pathetic  elo- 
quence, pleading  with  us  to  save  our  souls  and  to  go  to  him  in 
heaven  ?  There  is  no  class  of  Christians  to  whom  hell  is  not  an 
assistance.  The  conversion  of  a  sinner  is  never  completed  with- 
out the  fear  of  hell.  Otherwise  the  work  cannot  be  depended  on. 
It  has  a  flaw  in  its  origin,  a  seed  of  decay  in  its  very  root.  It  is 
unstable  and  insecure.  It  is  short-lived  and  unpersevering,  like 
the  seed  in  our  Saviour's  parable,  which  fell  upon  a  rock,  sprang 
up  for  a  season,  and  then  withered  away.  Hell  teaches  us  God 
when  we  are  too  gross  to  learn  him  otherwise.     It  lights  up  the 


Im.  zzxiii.  14. 


*Matt.  zxxvi.  41. 


«  2  Tbess.  i.  ». 


06 


OUSAT  ABTIGI.E8  OF  THS  CATHOLIC  FAITU. 


depths  of  sin's  malignity,  that  we  may  look  down  and  tremble, 
and  grow  M'ise.  Its  fires  turn  to  water  and  quench  the  fiety 
darts  of  the  tempter.  They  rage  round  us,  so  that  we  dare  not 
rise  up  from  prayer.  They  follow  us,  like  the  n[\any-tongue(l 
pursuing  flames  of  a  burning  prairie  and  drive  us  swiftly  on, 
and  out  of  breath,  along  the  path  of  God's  commandments.  0 
hell  I  thou  deHolate  creation  of  eternal  justice  1  who  ever  thought 
of  finding  a  friend  in  thee  ?  Yet.  we  cannot  doubt  but  that  hell 
has  sent  into  heaven  more  than  half  as  many  souls  as  it  contains 
itself." 

"  Let  us  then  turn  to  hell.  It  is  fearful  to  think  upon  the  union 
of  God's  power,  wisdom,  and  justice  in  producing  this  world  of 
punishment;  this  wonderful,  mysterious,  and  terrific  part  of 
creation,  which  is  in  its  desolate  mysteries  as  much  be}'on(l  our 
conception  as  the  joys  of  heaven  are  in  their  resplendency.  Nev- 
ertheless, we  will  leave  the  great  evil,  the  loss  of  God,  out  of 
view,  and  all  the  horrible  details  of  the  cruelties  of  physical  tor- 
ture. Bating  all  these  things,  what  sort  of  a  life  will  the  life  iit 
hell  be  after  the  resurrection  ?  It  will  be  a  life  where  every  act 
is  the  most  hateful  and  abominable  wickedness.  We  shall  un- 
derstand sin  better  then,  and  be  able  more  truly  to  fathom  the 
abysses  of  its  malice.  Yet,  every  thought  we  think,  every  word 
we  speak,  every  action  we  perform,  we  shall  be  conaraitting  sin, 
and  committing  it  with  a  guilty  shame  and  terror  which  will  be 
insupportable.  Even  the  sins  of  others  will  be  excruciating  tor- 
tures to  us.  If  we  were  awakened  at  midnight,  in  our  houses, 
and  held  by  strong  men  in  the  lone  darkness,  while  their  accom- 
plices were  murdering,  before  our  eyes,  some  one  whom  we  loved 
most  tenderly,  how  terrible,  How  desperate  would  the  torture  be ! 
Our  reason  would  be  not  unlikely  to  give  way.  The  agonizing 
moan,  the  wild,  inquiring  eye,  so  glazily  fixed  upon  us,  the  pale, 
contracted  face  of  the  sufferer,  the  fiend-like  gestures  of  the  mur- 
derers, and  the  staring  red  stain  everywhere — these  would  haunt 
us  all  through  life.  Yet,  I  suppose  the  sight  of  the  hideous  wick- 
edness of  hell  must  be  incomparably  more  horrible  than  this. 
Nevertheless,  amid  it  all  we  have  to  live,  as  best  we  may,  eter- 
nally drowned  in  shame  and  misery  and  hopelessness.    It  is  a 


OBKATION— THE  ANGELS— FREE  WILL— SIN—HEAVBir—HELL.      67 


life — for  I  will  speak  of  it  in  the  present  tense — in  which  all 
possible  kinds  of  bodily  agony  are  united  in  the  highest  degree. 
Think  of  the  countless  diseases  to  which  men  may  be  subjected. 
Some  of  them  kill  with  sheer  pain  in  a  few  moments.  Every 
limb,  every  deeply-hidden  nerve,  every  cell  which  life  informs, 
has  a  cluster  of  torments  belonging  to  itself.  Think  only  of 
what  the  head,  the  teeth,  the  ears,  the  eyes  can  suffer  I  Then 
consider  all  the  variety  of  wounds  which  may  be  inflicted  upon 
our  wincing  flesh  and  our  tingling  bone,  whether  upon  a  field  of 
battle  or  in  surgical  operations.  Consider  also  the  exquisite  inge* 
nuity  of  the  tortures  of  medieval  prisons,  or  of  the  inhuman  con* 
trivances  from  which  the  criminal  law  of  all  known  countries^has 
not  been  free  till  quite  late  in  modern  history.  All  these,  always 
nt  the  highest  stretch,  always  up  to  the  point  of  the  intolerable 
and  beyond  it — such  is  the  life  in  hell.  Nay,  it  is  not  such ;  for, 
besides  these,  there  will  be  an  excess  of  new,  undreamed-of  tor- 
tures of  our  flesh,  which  has  lost  even  the  poor  mercy  of  being 
able  to  lie  down  and  die.  This  is,  terrible ;  but  to  this  you  must 
add  the  mental  agonies  of  hell.  Envy,  despair,  spite,  rage,  gloom, 
sadness,  vexation,  wounded  sensitiveness,  weariness,  loathing,  op- 
pression, grief,  dejection,  wildness,  bitterness — all  these  are  there, 
in  all  their  kinds,  and  in  unspeakable  intensity.  Think  of  a  vio- 
lent access  of  sorrow  now;  think  of  the  rawness  of  lacerated 
feeling ;  think  of  a  ddy's  leaden  load  of  dark  oppression.  Now, 
without  pause,  without  alleviation,  without  even  vicissitudes  of 
suffering,  here  is  a  blank,  huge,  superincumbent  eternity  of  these 
things,  with  undistracting  multiplicity  of  wretchedness,  far  be- 
yond the  worst  degrees  they  could  ever  reach  on  earth.  But 
earth  does  not  half  exhaust  the  mind's  power  to  suffer,  either  in 
degree  or  kind.  The  life  in  hell  will  disclose  to  us  indescribable 
novelties  of  unhappiness.  Our  vast  immortal  spirits  will  become 
alive  with  misery  and  woe.  New  faculties  of  wretchedness  will 
spring  to  life.  We  shall  be  forever  discovering  new  worlds  of 
iutensest  sorrow,  of  most  intolerable  anguish.  But  is  this  to  be 
endured  ?  It  must  be  endured.  We  must  lie  there  in  disconso- 
late helplessness  forever.  Our  minds  have  lost  also  their  last 
poor  mercy  of  being  able  to  go  mad.    The  life  in  hell  is  a  lite, 


Ae  GREAT  ARTIOLn  OF  TBS  OATUOLIO  FAITH. 

a]Ho,  from  which  there  is  a  total  absence  of  sympathy  and  love. 
This  is  an  easy  thing  to  say ;  but  it  is  not  eaHy  to  penetrate  into 
its  significance.  The  mind  loses  itself  when  it  attempts  to  trav- 
erse an  interminable  desert  eternity,  where  no  flowers  of  love,  nor 
even  their  similitude,  can  grow."' 


The  Material  Universe — Man.     {', 

Besides  the  spiritual  creation  of  the  angels,  God  called  forth 
from  nothing  the  material  world.  The  whole  system  of  suns 
and  planets  seems  so  countless  and  so  vast,  that  the  earth  we  in- 
hal|jt  becomes,  in  the  eyes  of  science,  so  small,  so  inconsidera- 
ble, such  a  nothing,  that  we  should  only  wonder  the  more  that 
any  mere  fragment  of  it  could  lure  us  from  God.  Science  en- 
deavors,  but  in  vain,  to  grasp  the  whole  stellar  world,  to  trace 
the  paths  on  which  they  move  in  celestial  harmony ;  to  study 
tlie  nature  of  t.ich,  to  fathom  all  the  secrets  of  those  bright  orbs 
that  are  really  all  darkness  to  us.  Our  earth,  directly  open 
before  us  like  a  book,  tells  the  story  of  its  progressive  forma- 
tion, vegetation,  animal  life,  in  the  same  torniH  that  God  has  re- 
vealed through  his  servant  Moses,  for  the  guidance  of  the  Isra- 
elites, and  to  save  them  from  the  wild  errors  of  idolatry.  At 
first  tho  earth  was  a  shapeless  mass ;  "  and  the  earth  was  void 
and  empty  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep;  and 
the  spirit  of  God  moved  jver  the  waters";*  gradually  the  waters 
separated,  dry  land  appeared ;  "  God  also  said :  Let  the  waters 
that  are  under  the  heaven,  be  gathered  together  into  one  i)lace ; 
and  let  the  dry  land  appear,  and  it  was  done;  and  God  calhnl 
the  dry  land,  earth ;  and  the  gathering  together  of  the  water-, 
seas.  And  God  saw  that  ii  was  good";*  this, at  the  comnuiiitl 
of  God,. was  clothed  with  a  beauteous  vegetation.  "And  lie 
said:  Let  the  ^arth  bring  foitii  the  <^reen  herb,  and  such  as 
may  seed,  and  the  fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after  its  kind,  whicii 
may  have  seed  in  itself  upon  cartb.  And  it  was  so  done.  And 
the  earth  brought  forth  the  green  herb,  and  such  as  yieldetb 
seed  according  to  its  kind,  and  the  tree  that   beareth  fruit, 


■Faber. 


*  Genesis  i.  2. 


•lb.  8,  9,  10. 


THR  MATKRfAL  ITIflVRIlSIS— MABf. 


having  seed,  each  one  ;urding  to  its  kind.  And  Oo.l  Raw  that 
it  WHS  good,"'  Tlie  fossils  show  this  departineiil  of  uutuio  in 
a  gradur.1  «<lvance  toward  perfection,  from  ^he  tVrn  to  the 
mighty  moiiHters  of  the  forest;  then  the  waters  at  tlh*  cominaud 
of  God  produced  the  fishes  of  the  sea  and  winged  creatures 
Hying  beneath  the  firniament  of  heaven.  "God  also  said:  I^et 
the  waters  bring  forth  tho  creeping  creature  having  life,  and 
the  fowl  that  may  fiy  "s'er  the  earth  under  the  finnaniont  of 
hc.iven.  And  (lod  created  ihe  great  whales,  and  every  living  and 
moving  creafurn,  whioii  tho  waters  brought  forth,  according  to 
thuir  kindM,  nud  every  winged  fowl  according  to  its  kin«l.  And 
Go(\  saw  that  it  was  good."*  At  first  in  that  twilight  of  the 
earth,  these  crsatures  were  of  monstrous  form,  but  tiiey  gi'adually 
«(}ive  place  to  tho  smaller  but  more  perfect  beings.  Then  the  beants 
of  the  field  sprang  forth  at  God's  decree ;  from  the  tiny  insect 
that  dances  like  a  mote  in  the  sun))eam  to  the  mighty  t^itphnnt; 
creatures  so  varied  yet  ho  perfect,  each  so  wonderfully  uda[)ted  to 
its  place  in  the  harmonious  order  of  creation,  ho  marvelouH  in  the 
adaptation  of  form,  habit,  in  exterior  covering,  in  interior  struct- 
ure, species  diffi3riiig  from  each  other,  yet  with  such  prt^(h)miuant 
points  of  similarity,  that  we  class  them  as  genera;  the  weak  with 
means  of  eluding  the  strong;  all  so  balanced  by  the  hand  of  (lod, 
that,  living  as  many  do  on  other  creatures,  reproduction  is  vast 
or  limited  as  the  dustruction  is  greater  or  less,  thus  preserving 
the  general  harmony  of  the  world.  "  And  God  said :  Let  the 
earth  bring  forth  tho  living  crt  ature  in  its  kind,  and  creeping 
iliM.^s  and  buasts  of  the  earth  according  to  their  kinds.  And  it 
was  done  And  God  made  the  beasts  of  the  earth  according  to 
their  kinds,  and  cattle,  and  ever\i;hing  that  creepeth  on  the  earth 
after  its  kind.     And  God  saw  tm^  it  was  good."* 

Beautiful  as  the  world  was  >fit)i  its  mineral  riches,  its  crv=»tal- 
line  forms  -where  alone  the  >ild  atraiirht  line  is  combined  into 
creations  of  dazzling  beauty— the  vegcUble  world,  and  the  nni- 
mated  creatures,  all  of  which  God  prononncod  arood,  it  wa^^  not 
on  these  that  the  Almighty  looked  with  the  fullness  of  his  love; 


•  Gen.  i.  11, 13. 


» Tb.  i.   0.  21. 


•Ib.i.84  2«. 


60 


GREAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


they  were  created  only  for  the  use  of  beings  whom  his  wisdom 
and  love  next  called  into  existence ;  beings  to  resemble  the  ano^cjls 
in  a  spiritual  soul,  endowed  with  free  Will,  but  with  a  body  drawn 
from  the  eai'th.    God  created  man.  . -i^      . 


The  Creation  of  Man — His  Trial — ^The  Fall  op  Man — Origi- 
;    ;,''  NAL  Sin— Its  Consequences. 

The  corporal  world  was  formed,  the  earth  was  covered  with 
plants,  pe  >pled  with  animals,  and  as  such  an  abode  prepared  foi 
the  king  of  nature,  when  God  created  man  at  the  end  of  the  sixth 
day.  "  God  formed  man  of  the  slime  of  the  earth,  and  breathed 
into  his  face  the  l)reath  of  life,  and  man  becpme  a  living  soul."  ■ 

The  first  man  received  existence  directly  from  God ;  the  noble 
creature  whom  we  call  man  ov/es  his  origin  not  to  a  gradual  de- 
velopment, to  a  passage  from  one  species,  or  an  inferior  state,  to 
A  more  perfect  species  or  state.  God  himself  formed  the  body  of 
man,  and  quickened  it  by  a  soul,  as  Moses  expressly  states.  It 
would  be  absurd  to  attribute  a  faculty  to  nature  of  which  she  no- 
where exhibits  now  the  slightest  trace.  Are  we  to  be  told  that 
she  can  no  longer  transform  a  fish  or  beast  of  any  kind  into  a  man, 
because  her  fecundity  has  diminished  in  the  course  of  ages  ?  But 
if  she  ever  possessed  such  a  fecundity  we  ought  to  see  some  trace 
in  the  newly  discovered  countries,  where  nature  is  in  her  virgin 
state ;  lands  where  plants  and  animals  recall  those  found  elsewhere 
only  in  the  rocks.  Yet  such  is  the  inconsistency  of  unbelievers, 
that  while  they  refuse  to  believe  revealed  truth,  they  have  to  take 
refuge  in  the  most  enormous  absurdities. 

The  Biblical  account  of  the  origin  of  the  human  race  is  to  be 
understood  in  its  proper  and  historical  sense,  as  well  as  that  of 
the  Deluge,  for  example,  for  it  is  the  statement  of  a  fact.  For  the 
same  reason  the  formation  of  Eve  is  to  be  considered  as  a  real  his- 
torical fact.  By  saying  that  Eve  was  formed  from  a  rib,  taken 
from  the  side  of  Adam,  Moses  did  not  merely  wish  to  express  the 
thought  that  man  should  love  his  wife,  but  he  intended  to  say 
that  God  had  really  formed  Eve  from  one  of  Aaam's  ribs,  with 


•  Gen.  ii.  7. 


THE  OBKATION  OF  MAN— THE  PALL — OBIOIITAL  SIN. 


01 


the  view  of  reminding  the  latter  of  his  obligation  to  love  his  wife, 
and  of  impressing  on  her  the  duty  of  submission. 

The  whole  human  race  has  a  common  origin ;  in  other  words, 
all  men  descend  from  Adam  and  Eve.      '  v   >    *-  ' 

Moses  relates  first  the  successive  formation  and  adornment  of 
the  earth ;  then  he  adds :  "  And  there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the 
earth.  And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  slime  of  the  earth. 
.  .  .  And  the  Lord  God  said  :  It  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone." ' 
Hence,  before  Adam  and  Eve  there  were  no  human  beings  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  from  them  has  sprung  the  whole  human 
race;  for  Adam  called  the  name  of  his  wife  Eve,  because  "she 
was  the  mother  of  all  the  living,"*  and  in  fact  the  sacred  writer 
proceeds  to  show  us  how  Adam's  descendants  spread  over  the 
whole  earth.  The  Scripture  declares  it  elsewhere  jn  terms  as 
formal  and  precise :  Wisdom  "  preserved  him  that  was  first  formed 
by  God,  the  father  of  the  world,  when  he  was  created  alone."  * 
Adam  is  called  "  the  father  of  the  world,"  because  he  is  the  an- 
cestor of  the  \Vhole  human  race.  This  truth  was  preached  too  by 
St.  Paul  before  the  Areopagus  of  Athens.  God  "  hath  made  of 
one  all  mankind  to  dwell  upon  the  whole  face  of  the  earth."'  The 
dogma  of  the  unity  of  the  human  race  is  moreover  intimately  con- 
nected with  that  of  original  sin,  which  has  extended  to  all  men. 

All  the  data  furnished  by  historical,  philological,  or  scientific 
studies,  far  from  contradicting  Eevelation  on  this  point,  agree 
wonderfully  with  it.  The  most  ancient  traditions  of  the  nations 
and  their  historians,  more  or  less  nearly  agree  with  the  narrative 
of  Moses  concerning  the  origin  of  the  human  race,  so  that  we 
can  always  trace  it  as  the  original. 

There  is  nothing  more  remarkable  than  the  providential  way 
in  which  God  permits  discoveries  of  real  scientific  facts  or  of 
ancient  remains  from  time  to  time,  in  order  to  refute  the  argu- 
ments of  unbelievers.  The  study  of  geology  was  at  first  used  as 
a  weapon  against  truth ;  but  when  the  facts  collected  were 
thoroughly  examined^  they  only  made  the  truth  brighter  and 
clearer ;  the  explorations  in  Egypt  and  the  East  were  seized  upon 


•Gen.ii.  6,  7,18. 


«Gen.iii.20. 


Wifld.x.1. 


*  Acts  zvii. 


OBEAT  ABTIOLEB  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


by  the  infidels  of  the  commencemeDt  of  this  century  to  attack 
the  record  of  Revelation ;  now  they  give  constant  and  unvarying 
evidence  in  its  favor. 

The  evidence  of  the  world's  structure  written  in  the  rocks- 
the  records  of  the  most  ancient  nations,  traced  dimly  on  their 
monuments  buried  for  centuries  beneath  the  soil,  alike  combine 
to  attest  the  unity  of  the  human  race.  ■' 

Man  was  created  possessing  a  body  and  a  soul.  By  the  foimer 
he  belongs  to  the  material  world  ;  by  the  latter  to  the  spiritual. 
He  was  made  to  the  image  and  likeness  of  God,  by  th^  natural 
and  supernatural  gifts  which  the  Creator  has  lavished  upon  him. 
By  natural  gifts  we  mean  what  belongs  to  a  complete  nature. 
Supernatural  gifts  are  those  gratuitously  added  by  God  to  human 
nature.  These  gifts,  because  they  do  not  necessarily  belong  to 
tlie  soul,  may  be  taken  from  it  without  affecting  its  peculiar 
rights  and  faculties. 

Man  is  made  to  the  image  of  God,  in  being  endowed  with  in- 
telligence or  reason,  and  as  such  he  received  from  God  dominion 
over  all  created  things  not  endowed  with  reason. 

God,  by  his  intelligence,  knows  himself  perfectly  ;  man,  by  his 
reason,  knows  God  although  imperfectly.  Maii  exercises  I'eason 
by  his  soul.  The  soul  is  a  substance,  something  that  subsists 
and  endures,  in  which  thoughts  are  formed  and  preserved  or  re- 
membered. If  it  were  a  mere  collection  of  thoughts  and  images 
there  could  be  no  lasting  impression,  no  power  of  recalling.  It 
is  a  simple  substance  and  a  spiritual  substance ;  that  is,  it  does 
not  owe  its  existence  to  matter.  Its  range  is  not  limited  to  the 
material  world ;  it  has  the  idea  of  eternity,  of  spirituality,  of  in- 
finity; it  conceives  the  existence  of  God,  of  a  spirit  infinitely 
perfect. 

The  soul  rises  above  matter  by  the  will  as  by  the  understand- 
ing ;  it  loves  virtue ;  it  aspires  to  a  purely  spiritual  felicity ;  it 
longs  to  be  united  to  God.  From  all  this  we  conclude  that  the 
soul  possesses  spiritual  faculties,  and  as  the  stream  indicates  the 
nature  of  its  source,  that  it  is  itself  a  spiritual  substance. 

Man  is  also  created  to  the  image  of  God,  in  that  he  is  endowed 
with  a  free  will.    To  exercise  the  empire  which  God  has  given 


THE  OBEATION  OF  MAN— THE  FALL— OBIGINAL  BIS, 


03 


to  man  on  earth,  man  required  a  free  will  as  well  as  reason.  Free 
will,  like  reason,  raises  man  above  creatures  which  are  limited  to 
the  impressions  of  the  senses,  and  fits  him  to  rule  the  earth. 

The  liberty  of  the  will  results  essentially  from  the  nature  of 
the  human  soul.  Our  consciousness  attests  that  the  soul  is  free 
in  most  of  its  acts — that  is  to  say,  that  it  determines  in  regai'd  to 
them  by  a  power  of  choice  which  belongs  to  it.  Who  is  not  con- 
scious that  he  speaks  or  is  silent,  walks  or  rests,  thinks  of  one 
subject  or  another  as  he  chooses  ?  When  we  accomplish  an  act 
we  feel  perfectly  that  the  motives  impelling  us  to  it  impose  no 
constraint,  and  that  beside  them,  we  need  a  determination  of  our 
own  will. 

Let  us  ask  the  men  of  all  ages ;  they  will  answer  with  one 
voice  that  man  is  free.  Laws,  rewai'ds,  punishments,  ai'e  all 
based  on  the  freedom  of  the  human  will.  Otherwise  how  cQuld 
any  man,  who  was  not  free  in  his  resolutions  and  actions,  be  re- 
quired to  conform  them  to  law  ?  Or  how  could  rewards  or  pun- 
ishments be  meted  out  to  acts  the  accomplishment  or  omission  of 
which  was  not  free  ?  Man  is  then  free ;  that  is  to  say,  that  for 
many  of  his  acts  he  is  constrained  neither  by  an  external  force 
nor  an  interior  necessity. 

All  revelation  recognizes  liberty  in  man ;  for  the  divine  threats 
which  it  records  aim  only  to  divert  man  from  evil  which  he  can 
avoid,  as  the  divine  promises  seek  to  lead  him  to  good,  which  is 
in  his  power.  "  If  it  seem  evil  to  you  to  serve  the  Lord,"  said* 
Josue  to  the  children  of  Israel  in  Sichem,*  "  you  have  your  choice. 
Choose  this  day  that  which  pleaseth  you  whom  you  would  rather 
serve."  'He  who  can  choose  what  pleases  him  and  reject  what 
seems  evil  in  his  eyes,  is  evidently  free. 

The  third  character  which  contributes  to  make  the  human  soul 
an  image  of  God  is  immortality.  God  is  not  only  immortal,  but 
eternal ;  without  beginning  and  without  end.  By  immortality, 
that  is,  the  endless  duration  assured  to  him,  man  in  one  sense 
participates  in  God's  eternity.  We  find  a  reason  for  our  immor- 
tality in  the  very  nature  of  the  soul.     What  dies  is  subject  to 


■■kf 


'  Jos.  xziv.  15. 


64 


OBMAT  AltTlOLISOF  THS  eXTHOLIO  FAITH. 


decomposition  or  division.  Now  the  soul  is  a  spiritual  being,  a 
simple  being ;  what  is  simple  has  no  parts,  cannot  be  divided 
decomposed,  is  imperishable,  and  can  be  destroyed  only  by  the 
divine  power  that  called  it  into  existence.  The  death  or  decom- 
position of  the  body  is  not  attended  with  any  such  result  in  tlie 
soul.  Not  having  the  same  nature  as  the  body,  the  soul  does  not 
share  its  lot.  As  the  end  for  which  the  soul  was  created  subsists 
after  the  death  of  the  body,  it  must  naturally  survive  it.  The 
first  and  principal  end  of  the  soul  is  to  know  and  love  God,  not 
to  animate  a  perishable  body.  >        :       . 

If  we  ast  the  sentiments,  the  irresistible  desires  of  our  soul, 
we  shall  learn  that  it  sighs  constantly  after  happiness ;  that  it 
eagerly  seeks  whatever  promises  to  gratify  and  satisfy  it.  It 
tastes  in  vain  all  earthly  goods ;  these  serve  only  to  make  it  feel 
that  it  must  not  seek  the  satisfaction  of  its  desires  here  below. 
Solomon  had  enjoyed  all  the  pleasures  of  the  mind  and  of  the 
senses,  and  he  judges  them  in  these  words,  that  escaped  from 
his  heart,  "Vanity  of  vanities,  and  all  is  vanity!"  But  if 
the  desires  of  the  human  heart  were  never  to  be  satisfied,  man 
would  be  more  pitiable  than  the  brute,  which,  limited  to  the 
material  world,  finds  satisfaction  for  its  appetites  and  instincts. 
God  evidently  could  not  imprint  in  the  human  soul  a  deceitful 
sentiment ;  it  cries  aloud,  "  There  is  an  eternal  life  I "  and  the 
cry  is  true.  God,  who  is  infinitely  good  and  just,  could  not  con- 
'demn  man  to  an  undeserved  punishment.  But  it  would  be  a 
cruel  torment  to  feel  constantly  yearnings  and  desires  never  to 
be  satisfied. 

The  human  soul  must  be  immortal.  This  is  required  by  the 
order  established  in  the  world  by  divine  Providence.  The  goods 
of  this  world  are  common  to  the  good  and  the  wicked ;  and  sin- 
ners who  shrink  from  no  means  of  acquiring  them,  often  possess 
a  larger  share  than  the  just,  who  fear  to  oltend  their  conscience. 
If  we  can  comprehend  the  designs  of  Providence,  we  must  admit 
that  after  this  world  will  come  the  time  of  just  rewards  and 
punishments. 

God's  wisdom  requires  him  to  excite  men  to  the  practice  of 
virtue  by  the  promise  of  rewards,  and  divert  them  from  vice  by 


THE  CREATION  OF  MAN— THE  FALL— ORIGINAL  SIW. 


60 


the  threat  of  punishment.  This  result  would  not  be  attained  if 
the  vicious  were  constantly  happy  and  the  virtuous  man  a  prey 
to  misfortune,  llan  desires  happiness.  If  he  cannot  hope  for 
it  in  another  life,  in  return  for  the  sacrifices  which  the  practice 
of  virtue  copts  him,  he  will  seek  it  in  the  enjoyments  which  vice 
offers.  Is  the  beauty  of  virtue  enough  in  itself  to  make  men 
enjoy  and  practice  it  ?  Evidently  not ;  it  would  outweigh  vice 
in  the  eyes  of  but  few.  How  many  even  are  alarmed  and  re- 
pelled by  the  very  purity  and  beauty  of  virtue ! 

The  voice  of  all  nations,  too,  proclaims  the  immortality  of  the 
soul.  The  friends  severed  by  death  hope  to  meet  again  in 
another  life.  The  sacrifices  for  the  dead  and  other  ceremonies 
found  among  the  most  savage  nations,  attest  their  belief  in  a 
future  life.  A  sentiment  so  entwined  in  the  very  fibers  of  the 
heart,  enshrined  in  the  traditions  of  all  nations,  cannot  but  be 
founded  on  the  truth. 

The  soul  gives  life  and  movement  to  the  body.  The  body  acts 
on  the  soul  by  impressions,  and  becomes  the  occasion  of  ideas 
and  knowledge,  and  also  of  sentiment.  The  soul  acts  on  the 
body  by  the  will,  and  makes  it  take  part  in  the  acts  of  the  soul. 
The  soul  then  is  responsible  for  the  actions  of  the  body,  and 
acquires  merit  or  demerit,  as  they  are  good  or  bad. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  supernatural  gifts.  By  these,  and 
especially  by  sanctifying  grace,  man  becomes  the  supernatural 
image  of  God.  All  these  gifts  are  comprised  in  the  term  original 
justice.  Although  sanctifying  grace,  properly  speaking,  confers 
on  man  this  supernatural  resemblance  with  God,  the  other  gifts 
of  the  same  kind  contribute  to  elevate  and  heighten  this  resem- 
blance. 

The  first  man  was  established  in  the  state  of  sanctifying  grace. 
The  author  of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  say?,  "  God  made  man 
right," '  and  he  speaks  of  supernatural  rectitude  or  justice,  be- 
cause the  term  he  employs  is  often  applied  to  the  saints,  especially 
by  the  psalmist.  St.  Paul  teaches  it  expressly :  "  Be  renewed  in 
the  spirit  of  your  mind  and  put  on  the  new  man,  who  according 


Eccles.  vii.  30. 


66 


■^• 


OBBAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


to  God  is  created  in  justice  and  holiness  of  truth.''  *  The  apostle 
here  clearly  indicates  the  primitive  state  of  Adam,  as  a  renewal 
is  a  return  to  an  original  condition.  ' 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Redeemer  of  the  human  race ;  by  him  we 
recover  what  we' lost  in  Adam;  by  him  we  attain  supernatural 
justice,  sanctifying  grace,  therefore  Adam  lost  it.  By  this  sane- 
tity  and  justice  man  was  raised  to  a  supernatural  state ;  he  he- 
came  also,  by  virtue  of  a  new  creation,  a  child  of  God  by  a  new 
title.  "  Whosoever  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 
sons  of  God."*  He  who  is  in  possession  of  sanctifying  grace 
possesses  also  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  consequently  a  child  of 
God.      -■-•■■•  ■-.'■v^-    ::       ,  ■;--.-.  --/..;  -■-. ^r.;-. :/'-.:_'■:    , 

As  a  child  of  God  man  obtains  the  right  to  the  TdngdAim  of 
heaven ;  "  If  sons,  heirs  also,  heirs  indeed  of  God,  and  joint  heirs 
with  Christ."*  The  son  is  entitled  to  his  father's  inheritance. 
Man  was  thus  raised  to  a  state  to  which  his  nature  could  not 
aspire,  which  it  could  not  even  suspect.  Grace  was  the  crown  of 
human  natuie,  but  was  no  more  a  part  of  him  than  the  crovvii 
worn  by  a  child  is  a  part  of  his  being.  It  filled  the  soul  with 
the  fire  of  divine  love,  but  left  it  in  its  original  state  on  with- 
drawing, just  as  fire  pervades  a  red-hot  bar  of  iron,  but  can  leave 
it  to  become  cold  and  black  as  before.       -  ■ 

These  gifts  of  grace  accorded  to  man  were  supernatural  gifts ; 
for  we  call  supernatural  what  surpasses  the  powers  of  man,  and 
imparts  to  him  a  perfection  not  belonging  to  him  by  his  nature. 
Such  is  sanctifying  grace.  It  cannot  be  acquired  by  man's  nat- 
ural faculties  or  powers;  it  is  a  prerogative  to  which  human 
nature  has  no  right.  It  is  granted  to  us  by  virtue  of  a  second 
creation  or  birth,  a  spiritual  birth  according  to  God.  "  Behold 
what  manner  of  charity  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that 
we  should  be  called  and  should  be  the  sons  of  God.  We  are 
now  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  hath  not  yet  appeared  what  we 
shall  be.  We  know  that  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like 
to  him,  because  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  *  It  is  by  sanctifying 
grace  that  "  we  receive  the  adoption  of  sons."  * 


£pli.iT.24.    .•Bom.viU.  14.     *Bom.  viii.  17.     « IJobn  iii.  1,  2.     'Gal.iv.S. 


THE  CREATION  OF  XAN— THE  FALIr— OBIOINAL  SIN. 


67 


It  is  the  same  in  regard  to  our  supernatural  destiny — heaven 
or  the  intuitive  vision  of  God.  Our  nature  has  no  inherent  right 
to  claim  itl  Can  the  son  of  a  peasant  claim  to  be  adopted  by  a 
king,  and  raised  to  the  throne?  Can  he  claim  an  education  be- 
fitting none  but  a  prince?  Man's  destiny  in  regard  to  super- 
uatural  felicity,  which  consists  in  the  intuitive  vision  of  God,  is 
like  an  adoption  with  a  view  to  the  royal  succession.  And  the 
sanctifying  grace  allotted  to  man  bears  an  analogy  to  the 
princely  education  bestowed  on  the  adoptive  heir  to  the  throne. 

God  adorned  the  minds  of  Adam  and  Eve  with  great  and 
even  supernatural  knowledge.  "  He  gave  them  counsel,  and  a 
tongue,  and  eyes,  and  ears,  a  heart  to  devise,  and  he  filled  them 
with  the  knowledge  of  understanding.  He  created  in  them  the 
science  of  the  Spirit ;  he  filled  their  heart  with  wisdom,  and 
showed  them  both  good  and  evil."  *  Adam  showed  extensive  and 
varied  knowledge,  when  he  gave  each  of  tho  animals,  as  God 
caused  it  to  pass  before  him,  a  name  suited  to  its  nature.  The 
philosopher  Pythagoras  regarded  as  the  wisest  of  men  the  one 
who  invented  the  names  of  things.  If  this  knowledge  which  Adam 
displayed  was  natural  to  him,  or  could  have  been  acquired  by  the 
faculties  proper  to  human  nature,  it  was  nevertheless  supernatural 
in  the  mode  of  its  acquisition,  since  it  was  imparted  directly  by 
God  to  Adam. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Adam  possessed  other  supernatural 
knowledge.  The  words  which,  according  to  the  Council  of  Trent, 
he  uttered  by  divine  inspiration,  and  which  unfold  the  exalted 
aim  and  signification  of  marriage,*  are  a  proof  of  this. 

Moreover,  as  man  received  primitively  a  supernatural  destiny, 
he  must  have  known  it  in  order  to  attain  it ;  and  hence  super- 
natural knowledge  was  a  consequence  of  his  destiny,  or  the  last 
end  assigned  to  him. 

God  gave  the  first  man  the  empire  over  his  senses.  Man  in  this 
happy  state  experienced  no  irregular  inclinations ;  the  flesh  did 
not  war  against  the  spirit.  " Such  vas  the  order  established  in 
him  by  original  justice,"  says  St.  Augustine,  "  that  the  flesh  was 
submissive  to  the  soul,  as  the  soul  was  to  God."  • 

>  Ecclus.  xvii.  6,  6.        '  Gen.  ii.  28,  24.        *  De  pecc.  mer.  et  remiss.,  lib.  ii.,  c.  zzi. 


^.^  ,.-..m 


T«.vT.» 


08  OKIAT  AinOlW  Of  TBS  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 

This  empil^  of  man  oyer  his  senses,  this  exemption  from  evil 
concupiscence,  was  an  extraordinary  and  supernatura}  gift.  Man 
is  composed  of  two  absolutely  different  elements,  one  spiritual, 
the  other  material,  and  consequently  has  in  his  nature  the  germ 
of  opposite  inclinations.  While  his  soul  aspires  to  spiritual  goods, 
the  senses  incline  him  to  eartn,  to  matter,  and  often  paralyze 
the  tendencies  of  the  spirit.  Man  possesses  a  twofold  faculty  of 
knowing,  or  the  faculty  of  perception,  and  also  a  twofold  sensible 
faculty,*  spiritual  and  physical.  When  the  inferior  faculty  of 
knowing,  physical  perception,  presents  an  object  to  him  which 
flatters  the  senses,  this  object  at  once  acts  on  the  corresponding 
sensible  facuUy ;  and,  without  awaiting  the  order  of  reason  or  the 
will,  sensibility  often  anticipates  them,  and  once  excited  resists 
them.  It  would  doubtless  be  very  happy  for  us  to  possess  so  per- 
fect an  empire  over  our  senses  that  they  could  never  revolt.  But 
nothing  in  our  natuite  gives  us  a  right  to  this,  and  if  God  deprives 
us  of  it,  he  does  us  no  wrong;  it  is  not  for  us  to  establish  the 
measure  by  which  Qod  grants  his  gifts.  '*  If  man  had  appeared 
on  the  earth  In  ignorance  and  misery,  he  would  have  no  right  to 
blame  God,  but  only  to  praise  him,"  says  St.  Augustine. 

Since  original  sin,  the  revolt  of  the  senses  against  the  spirit,  is 
a  penalty  because  it  is  the  consequence  of  the  loss  of  original  jus- 
tice, it  would  be  only  a  natural  effect  of  the  union  of  soul  and 
body,  if  man  had  not  been  first  raised  to  a  supernatural  state. 

The  body  of  man,  composed  of  different  elements,  is  naturally 
subject  to  dissolution,  and  consequently  to  death ;  but  God  vouch- 
safed to  renew  the  vital  powers  of  our  first  parents  and  preserve 
their  life  from  all  danger,  in  case  they  had  persevered  in  their 
primitive  innocence,  and  thus  death  was  not  to  strike  them.  The 
holy  Scriptures  clearly  ascribe  immortality  to  ^he  body  of  the 
first  man.  "  By  sin  death  entered  into  the  world." '  "  The  body 
indeed  is  dead  because  of  sin."'  "God  did  not  make  death."" 
"God  created  man  incorruptible,  and  to  the  image  of  his 
own  likeness  he  made  him,  but  by  the  envy  of  the  devil  death 
came  inl".o  the  world."  *    The  threat  pronounced  })y  God  when  he 


>B«m.T.lf. 


*]Uid.t1U.10. 


•Wi8d.i.  18. 


*  Wild.  ii.  28, 94. 


THE  OBBATION  OF  MAlf— THB  FALL— OBIOINAL  SOT. 


60 


forbade  Adam  to  eat  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  saying,  "  In  what  day  soever  thou  shalt  eat  ther»> 
of,  thou  shalt  die  the  death," '  does  not  apply  only  to  the  spiritual 
death  of  the  soul,  but  also  to  corporal  death,  as  is  evident  from 
the  words  in  which  God  announces  the  fulfillment  of  that  threat* 
The  Council  of  Trent  pronounces  an  anathema  against  whosoever 
denies  that  the  first  man  incurred  by  his  disobedience  the  death 
with  which  God  had  threatened  him. 

Adam  was  therefore  destined  to  exchange  an  earthly  happinedi 
for  a  perfect  and  eternal  felicity  without  passing  through  deatlu 

Exhaustion,  sickness,  physical  sufferings,  are,  like  death,  a  nat> 
urtl  effect  of  the  composition  and  state  of  our  body.  Now  our 
first  parents  were  at  the  outset  exempt  from  these  corporal  miser* 
ies.  Before  they  sinned  they  dwelt  in  a  paradise  of  delight^  and 
it  is  not  till  after  their  disobedience  that  they  are  represented  in 
Scripture '  as  exchanging  a  tranquil  happiness  for  sufferings  and 
miseries,  internal  and  external.  "  Man,"  says  St.  Augustine, "  lived, 
in  Paradise  as-  he  pleased,  so  long  as  he  observed  the  command* 
ments  of  God.  He  suffered  neither  hunger  nor  thirst ;  he  had  at 
will  meat  and  drink ;  the  tree  of  life  preserved  his  body  from  the 
weakening  of  age.  He  had  naught  to  fear  from  internal  disease 
or  outward  blows  and  wounds.  He  enjoyed  perfect  bodily  health, 
and  perfect  tranquillity  of  soul.  He  experienced  no  fatigue,  nor 
any  involuntary  need  of  sleep."  *  He  adds,  that  the  state  of  im- 
mortality  and  natural  happiness  enjoyed  by  the  first  man  was  the 
effect  of  God's  grace.  Hence,  corporal  death  and  physical  infirmi- 
ties  are  to  be  considered  as  a  punishment  only  because  they  were 
the  result  of  sin. 

The  first  man  had  received  sanctifying  grace,  and  the  other 
supernatural  gifts,  no*^  only  for  himself,  but  also  for  his  descend- 
ants. All  creation,  and  consequently  the  human  race,  ought  to 
persevere  and  progress  in  the  state  of  primitive  perfection.  This 
results  from  the  very  terms  of  the  blessing  pronounced  by  God 
on  all  living  beings,  and  especially  on  man.  "  Increase  and  multi- 
ply, and  fill  the  earth,  and  subdue  ii,  and  rule  over  the  fishes  of 
the  sea,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  all  living  creatures  that 

.  '  ■  I  I      ■  !■■■    ■■-     »■     ■■    — ■  ■     ■■■  ■    ■■!■    I  ■    »  11     ■  ■     -— .M^ 

>Geii.ii.  17.      *a8D.iii.  1».      •Osn.  iii.      « De  Ciyitato  Dei,  Ub.  zir.,  cliap.  zzri. 


70 


OBBAT  ABTI0LE8  OF  TUB  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


move  upon  the  earth.^' '  God  thus  promised  all  future  genera- 
tions the  same  empire  over  the  earth  that  he  gave  to  Adam. 
Therefore,  original  justice,  as  the  principal  condition  of  this  em- 
pire, was  also  to  pass  to  the  descendants  of  the  first  man.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Council  of  Trent,'  Adam,.from  the  moment  of  his 
sin,  lost,  not  only  for  himself,  but  also  for  us,  the  sanctity  and 
justice  which  he  had  received  from  God ;  it  follows,  therefore, 
that  he  received  them  for  us  as  well  as  for  himself. 

This  disposition,  by  virtue  whereof  God  has  decreed  to  trans- 
mit, from  the  first  man  to  all  his  descendants,  not  only  the  natural, 
but  also  the  supernatural  gifts,  is  perfectly  conformable  to  wis- 
dom. God  realizes  unity  in  all  his  works,  so  that  creation,  not- 
withstanding the  diversity  which  it  presents,  is  the  expression  of 
the  Creator's  unity.  In  the  firmament  the  sun  is  a  sole  center 
for  tlie  planets,  which  revolve  around  it.  So  in  the  order  of  grace : 
"  One  faith,  one  baptism,  one  shepherd,  one  flock."  Therefore, 
the  human  race,  having  Adam  as  its  head,  not  only  under  the 
natural,  but  also  under  the  supernatural  regard,  is  restored  to 
unity  under  both  points  of  view. 

To  realize  the  designs  of  his  mercy,  God  is  also  wont  to  employ 
human  creatures  as  instruments  in  order  to  unite  men  more 
closely  by  the  bonds  of  charity,  and  to  confer  on  some  a  kind  of 
divine  dignity  by  a  participation  in  the  action  of  his  providence. 
For  this  reason  the  life  of  grace,  which  bears  some  analogy  to 
natural  life,  was  to  be  transmitted  by  a  single  man  to  all  others ; 
in  like  manner,  it  occurs  that  virtuous  parents  transmit  an  in- 
heritance of  happiness  to  a  series  of  generations. 

It  by  no  means  follows  that  sanctifying  grace  would  be,  or  be- 
come, an  integral  part  of  human  nature.  It  is  not  by  any  power 
of  their  own  that  parents  would  have  transmitted  it  to  their 
children ;  it  would  have  been  given  directly  to  each  of  them  by 
God,  just  as  the  soul  is  created  immediately  by  God,  and  by  him 
united  to  the  body.*  i 


*  Oen.  i.  28. 

*St.  Thomas  1,  q.  100,  a.  1. 


'  Session  v..  Decree  on  Original  Sin,  2. 


■•■.  fl^ 


\  ''•/• 


•W!f\<;'TO. 


■rrrrrf 


^>^'->. 


TEE  YATIOAS  UBEAST. 


M^ 


•.\-  • 


The  pres( 
first  parent 
commandm 
hition  to  ea 
knowledge 
soever  thou 
of  immorta 
penalty  wh 
of  the  othe: 

It  was  ji 
being  shoul 
Now  libert^ 
proper  then 
his  destiny, 
prevent  all 
marks,  man 
by  the  goo( 
vine  Provid 
suitable  to 
Adam. 

Adam  wi 
at  the  sara( 
he  staked  tl 
preservatioi 
and  which  ( 
would  cond 
by  him  to 
filled  condit 

Moreover 
gifts,  their 
firmed  in  gc 
would  have 
as  in  all  els( 


i»»T'  TJ" 


.■^M^i^m^^^L 


^vT  " "■'".""" 


(IF  MAnili  OBBbniroi. 


tl 


The  Trial  of  Man's  Obboibnob.  « 

The  preservation  of  the  supernatural  girtH>  beatowvd  upon  our 
first  parents,  was  to  depend  on  their  fidelity  in  observing  the 
commandment  which  God  had  given  them.  This  was  his  prohi- 
bition to  eat  the  fruit  of  a  certain  tree.  "  But  of  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil  thou  shalt  not  eat :  for  in  what  day 
soever  thou  shalt  eat  of  it  thou  shalt  d;e  the  death."'  The  loss 
of  immortality  is  specially  announced  in  the  divine  threat  as  the 
penalty  which  most  forcibly  strikes  the  senses,  and  makes  the  loss 
of  the  other  prerogatives  more  conspicuous. 

It  was  just  that  Adam  should  be  subjected  to  a  test.  Every 
being  should  tend  to  its  end  in  a  manner  adapted  to  its  nature. 
Now  liberty  is  one  of  the  characters  of  human  nature.  It  was 
proper  then  that  man,  as  well  as  the  angels,  should  freely  attain 
his  destiny.  It  will  not  be  pretended  that  God  was  bound  to 
prevent  all  abuse  of  this  liberty.  Moreover,  as  St.  Thomas  re 
marks,  man  could  in  his  state  of  innocence  be  as  well  protected 
by  the  good  angels  as  tempted  by  the  evil  spirits ;  therefore  di- 
vine Providence,  which  refuses  no  creature  what  is  necessary  or 
suitable  to  it,  could  without  injustice  permit  the  devil  to  tempt 
Adam. 

Adam  was  subjected  to  a  tnal,  not  only  as  an  individual,  but 
at  the  same  time  as  father  and  head  of  the  whole  human  race ; 
he  staked  therefore  for  his  descendants,  as  well  as  for  himself,  the 
preservation  of  the  prerogatives,  which  were  a  pure  gift  of  God, 
and  which  God  could  subject  to  any  conditions  he  pleased.  Who 
would  condemn  a  prince  for  making  great  privileges,  accorded 
by  him  to  a  subject  and  his  descendants,  depend  on  easily  ful- 
filled conditions  ? 

Moreover,  if  our  first  parents  had  preserved  these  supernatural 
gifts,  their  descendants  would  not  have  been  from  birth  so  con- 
firmed in  good  that  they  would  have  been  unable  to  sin;  they 
would  have  resembled  their  authors  in  the  possibility  of  sinning 
as  in  all  else.  ^     v 


>Oen.ii.  17. 


73 


GREAT  ARTICLES  QP  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


In  his  designs,  full  of  wisdom,  God  subjected  our  first  parents 
to  this  test.  He  wished  first  to  remind  them  of  the  in)erty  witli 
which  they  were  endowed,  and  by  virtue  of  which  they  w^re  like 
to  their  Creator  and  lords  of  creation.  Moreover,  he  impressed 
upon  them  that  they  depended  on  him  as  his  creatures.  Finally 
and  especially,  he  afforded  them  an  occasion  of  meriting  super- 
natural happiness  by  their  obedience  and  fidelity.  Although 
Adam  possessed,  by  means  of  sanctifying  grace,  a  right  to  eternal 
happiness,  as  a  gratuitous  gift  or  heritage,  he  was  nevertheless  to 
acquire  it  as  a  recompense  and  a  crown  of  justice,  by  preserving 
freely  and  voluntarily  the  grace  which  he  had  grutuitously  re- 
ceived. God  wished  to  become  Adam's  debtor.  What  could  be 
more  grand  for  man  than  such  a  destin}'  ?  For  a  felicity  acquired 
or  merited,  so  far  as  it  is  appropriate  to  a  free  nature,  is  incom- 
parably preferable  to  a  happiness  gratuitously  bestowed.  The 
reward  thus  granted  to  man  glorified  God  more,  since  it  displayed 
not  only  his  goodness,  but  his  wisdom  and  justice. 

The  nature  as  well  as  the  motive  of  the  command  which  God 
gave  Adam  in  order  to  try  him  was  perfectly  appropriate  to  the 
character  of  man,  and  to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was 
placed.  It  was  one  simple  commandment;  man  was  not  buT- 
dened  with  a  multitude  of  precepts  which  he  was  to  observe. 
It  was  a  commandment  having  reference  to  an  exterior  object ; 
man  endowed  with  physical  senses  could  easily  comprehend  it. 
It  was  a  very  easy  commandment,  imposed  upon  man  still  in  a 
state  of  innocence. 

The  Sin  and  Fall  of  Man. 

Adam  and  Eve  did  not  remain  faithful  to  God  in  the  trial  to 
which  he  subjected  them.  At  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  who 
had  assumed  the  form  of  a  serpent.  Eve  ate  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil ;  then  she  gave  it  to 
Adam,  who  also  ate  of  it.  This  temptation  and  fall  is  a  real 
event,  not  a  mere  allegory,  and  must  be  so  believed.  Moses,  in- 
spired by  God,  relates  it  in  the  same  terms  as  he  does  the  other 
facts  giyen  in  Genesis,  such  as  the  creation  of  the  world,  the 
Deluge,  and  other  historical  facts. 


THE  SIN  Am)  FALL  OF  MAN. 


78 


The  traditions  of  all  nations  attest  the  fall  of  man  by  trans- 
gressing a  divine  commandment. 

Man  was  tried  as  the  angels  bad  been,  and  he  fell.  "  If  we  ex- 
amine the  falls,  both  of  angels  and  men,"  says  Faber,  "  we  shall 
see  that  what  lay  at  the  root  of  them  was  a  forgetfulness  that 
they  were  creatures,  or  a  perverse  determination  to  be  something 
else.  Whether  the  angels  contemplated  their  own  beauty,  and 
rested  with  an  unhallowed  complacency  on  themselves  as  their 
end,  or  whether  they  would  not  bow  to  the  divine  counsel  of  the 
Incarnation,  and  the  exaltation  of  Christ's  human  nature  above 
their  own,  in  both  cases  they  forgot  themselves  as  creatures,  and 
demanded  what  it  was  not  becoming  in  a  creature  to  demand. 
You  shall  be  as  gods,  was  the  very  motive  which  the  tempter 
urged  in  order  to  push  man  to  his  ruin.  Man  insisted  on  sharing 
something  which  it  had  pleased  God  for  the  time  to  reserve  to 
himself.  The  knowledge  of  God  was  the  object  of  Adam's  envy ; 
and  so  unsuitable  was  it  for  him  as  a  creature,  that,  when  he  got 
it,  it  ceased  to  be  science  and  turned  into  guilty  shame.  In  both 
cases  it  was  not  merely  that  the  angels  and  man  refused  to  obey 
their  Creator;  they  wanted  themseb'^es  to  be  more  than  creatures. 
They  would  not  acquiesce  in  their  created  position." 

In  transgressing  God's  prohibition  Adam  and  Eve  committed 
a  grievous  and  manifold  sin.  They  sinned,  first,  by  pride.  "  Pride 
is  the  beginning  of  all  sin." '  "  From  pride  all  perdition  took  its 
beginning."  *  Si  Thomas  remarks,  that  the  senses  were  in  thf; 
state  of  innocence  in  perfect  subjection  to  reason,  hence  they 
could  not  lead  men  to  an  irregular  desire,  the  satisfaction  of  which 
would  have  alienated  them  from  God.  Reason  alone  could  be 
the  first  to  experience  an  excessive  and  unlawful  tendency  for 
some  spiritual  good,  and  consequently  revolt  in  pride  against 
God.  This  pride  consisted  in  man  in  wishing  to  know  or  deter- 
mine, by  his  own  faculties  and  forces,  what  should  be  good  for 
him,  and  also  to  acquire,  independently  and  without  the  order 
established  by  God,  the  divine  felicity  and  resemblance  which  are 
to  be  its  principle;  for  we  cannot  suppose  that  man,  considering 


'  Ecclus.  z.  16. 


*Tobiaai?.U. 


74 


OBEAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


the  perfection  of  his  intellect  in  the  primeval  state,  ever  pre- 
tended  to  become  the  equal  of  God.  Second,  by  infidelity,  un- 
belief, or  incredulity,  raising  doubts  as  to  the  reality  of  the  chas- 
tisements wherewith  God  had  threatened  them,  and  by  putting 
faith  in  the  tempter,  rather  than  in  God  himself.  Third,  by  dis- 
obedience,  despising  God's  right  to  command  them.  Their  diso- 
bedience was  the  more  culpable,  as  God's  prohibition  against 
their  eating  the  fruit  of  a  tree  was  easy  to  observe,  because  they 
reveled  in  an  abundance  of  desirable  gifts;  that  no  unreflecting 
or  disorderly  inclination,  but  the  sole  free  choice  of  their  will 
could  determine  them  to  transgress  the  commandment  of  God ; 
finally,  that  not  only  the  greatness  of  the  benefits  received  from 
God,  but  also  the  rigorous  chastisements  which  were  threatened 
in  case  of  infidelity,  should  have  been  more  than  sufficient  to 
divert  them  from  an  act  of  disobedience.  "  Who  can  explain," 
says  St.  Augustine,  "  the  malice  of  those  who  violated  in  so  easy 
a  matter  so  grave  a  precept  imposed  under  such  terrible  pen- 
alties ?"> 

Eve  sinned  moreover  by  curiosity  and  by  a  desire  to  eat  the 
forbidden  fruit. 

It  is  easy  to  recognize  several  culpable  features  in  the  sin  of 
our  first  parents.  Gross  weakness,  since  it  was  very  easy  to  ob- 
serve God's  prohibition ;  ingratitude,  because  God  had  lavished 
his  benefits  on  them ;  imprudence,  for  Eve  exposed  herself  to 
temptation  by  approaching  the  tree  whose  fruit^she  was  forbid- 
den to  touch,  and  by  listening  to  the  perfidious  suggesiions  of 
the  serpent,  as  Adam  exposed  himself  by  listening  with  pleasure 
to  the  statements  and  persuasions  of  his  wife;  blindness,  for  tlioy 
believed  the  words  of  the  devil  rather  than  the  words  of  God, 
and  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  menaces  of  the  Almighty.  Confiding  in 
Satan  they  foolishly  believed  that  they  would  not  die,  but  would 
become  like  gods.  Contempt  of  God,  for  they  set  at  naught  both 
his  authority,  by  virtue  whereof  he  had  the  right  to  impose  the 
prohibition,  and  his  justice,  which  had  thi'eatened  punishment  so 
distinctly  and  so  terribly.  Let  us  now  consider  the  punishment 
entailed  by  this  sin  of  our  first  parents. 

>  De  Civitate  Dei,  1.  xiv.,  c.  12. 


THE  SIN  AND  PALL  OF  MAN. 


75 


As  a  consequence  of  their  sin,  Adam  and  Eve  lost  the  super- 
natural gifts  wjjich  they  had  received.  Thus  they  were  deprived 
of  sanctifying  grace.  By  virtue  of  their  likeness  to  God,  they 
enjoyed  the  tiiendwhip  of  their  Creator.  This  friendship  they 
lost  immediately  on  committing  their  sin,  as  is  proved  by  the 
trouble  and  fear  which  filled  their  souls;  and  the  anger  which 
(fod  manifested  toward  them.  The  sanctifying  grace,  which  had 
rendered  them  like  to  God,  and  had  secured  his  friendship,  wn'i 
tttken  from  them. 

Moreover,  justice  and  sanctity  are  inseparable  from  the  accom- 
plishment of  our  duties  to  God,  and  are  lost  immodiarely  upon 
any  grievous  transgression.  Now  the  disobedience  of  our  first 
parents  constituted  a  transgression  of  this  nature ;  consequently 
it  must  have  deprived  them  of  their  primitive  justice  and  sanc- 
tity, as  well  as  of  their  likeness  to  God. 

The  Council  of  Trent  pronounces  an  anathema  against  those 
who  deny  that  the  ^rst  man  by  transgressing  God's  command- 
ment in  Paradise  lost  at  once  the  sanctity  and  justice  wherein  he 
had  been  constituted.' 

Adam  and  Eve  lost,  at  least  in  a  great  measure,  the  supernat- 
ural knowledge  with  which  God  had  adorned  and  perfected  their 
minds.  Their  idea  of  hiding  from  the  f^ice  of  God,  who  is  present 
everywhere,  and  their  excuses  before  the  Lord,  who  knows  all 
things,  sufficiently  attest  how  greatly  their  reason  had  become 
troubled  and  obscured. 

We  do  not  say  that  they  lost  all  supernatural  knowlef'ge. 
God  having  resolved  to  save  them  had  certainly  left  them  the 
knowledge  of  their  last  end,  inasmuch  as  this  knowledge  was 
necessary  for  them  to  win  back  the  right  to  heaven. 

They  lost  the  empire  of  reason  over  the  will,  and  of  the  will 
over  the  senses.  As  soon  as  their  mind  refused  the  lawful 
obedience  to  God,  their  senses  revolted  against  reason ;  t'  ey  felt 
and  knew  their  nakedness.'  "  They  knew  it  by  their  fault,"  says 
St.  Bonaventure;  "therefore  they  were  ashamed  and  covered 
their  bodies."  * 


m 


'^1 


'  Sess.  y.,  c.  1,  Waterworth,  p.  32. 

*  They  perceived  themselves  to  be  naked. 


Gen.  Hi.  7. 


*  Breviloq.  p.  8,  c.  iv. 


76 


ORIAT  ARTI0LE8  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


Thus  they  were  deeply  injured  in  their  souls.  Their  mind  was 
darkened,  and  was  hampered  in  its  natural  operations ;  their  will 
was  weakened  and  inclined  to  evil.  Concupiscence  was  aroused  • 
the  passions  escaped  from  the  control  of  the  will.  Now  the  pas- 
sions constantly  trouble  the  mind,  by  leading  it  to  regard  as 
true  what  flatters  it,  and  thus  they  beget  error.  "The  entire 
Adam,"  says  the  Council  of  Trent,  ''  through  that  offence  of  j)re- 
varication,  was  changed  in  body  and  soul  for  the  worse." ' 

We  must  understand  in  its  theological  sense  this  proposition : 
"  By  sin  man  lost  the  supernatural  gifts,  and  was  injured  in  his 
natural  faculties."  It  signifies  not  that  man  precisely  lost  any 
of  his  natural  faculties,  but  that  these  faculties  are  not  seconded 
in  their  proper  natural  operations  by  the  supernatural  succors 
which  he  had  before  his  sin ;  in  this  sense  it  may  be  said  tLat 
human  nature  was  injured.  This  state  of  imperfection  is  called 
a  wound,  a  lesion,  because  it  is  caused  by  a  fault,  and  is  conse- 
quently a  penalty  or  chastisement.  St.  Thomas  says:  "By  the 
operation  of  original  justice,  reawon  had  a  perfect  sway  over  the 
inferior  faculties  of  the  soul,  and  was  itself  perfected  by  God,  to 
whom  it  was  submissive.  The  gin  of  the  first  man  deprived  us 
of  this  original  justice ;  therefore  all  the  faculties  or  powers  of 
the  soul  remained  in.  some  soifc  deprived  of  this  disposition, 
which  was  proper  to  them,  and  which  led  them  naturally  to  the 
practice  of  virtue :  this  privation  is  called  a  lesion  of  nature." 

Human  liberty  though  weakciied  by  original  sin  has  not  been 
destroyed.  The  Church,  through  the  Council  of  Trent,  condemn- 
ing the  errors  of  the  innovators  of  iAe  sixteenth  century,  pro- 
nounces an  anathema  against  those  who  pretend  that  man's  free 
will  was  lost  or  destroyed  by  Adam's  sin.'  The  Church  has  thus 
not  only  defended  the  faith,  but  upheld  the  dignity  of  man. 

Our  first  parents  lost  the  privilege  of  corporal  immortality  and 
exemption  from  suffering  and  physical  evils.  After  Adam's  diso- 
bedience God  pronounced  this  judgment :  "  In  the  sweat  of  thy 
face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return  to  the  earth  out  of 
which  thou  wast  taken ;  for  dust  thou  art  and  into  dust  shalt 


'  So8S.  y.,  c.  1. 


'  Sees,  yi.,  can.  6. 


TOE  SIN  AND  FALL  OF  MAN. 


T7 


thou  return." '  Eve  was  subjected  to  the  authority  of  man  and 
to  the  pains  of  child-bearing.  All  nature,  which  had  been  cre- 
ated for  them  and  placed  at  their  disposal,  was  struck  on  account 
of  their  disobedience,  and  rose  in  rebellion  against  them.  It  was 
announced  to  them  that  the  earth  should  produce  only  thorns 
and  thistles.  They  were  driven  out  of  thp  earthly  paradise,  and 
forever  dispossessed  of  the  state  of  natural  happiness  in  which 
they  had  hitherto  lived. 

Adam  and  Eve  incurred  eternal  damnation  under  a  double 
relation.  First,  having  lost  sanctifying  grace,  they  were  excluded 
from  supernatural  happiness.  This  exclusion  being  in  their  case 
a  consequence  of  sin,  must  be  considered  as  a  real  damnation. 
Then  having  been  guilty  of  a  grievous  disobedience,  they  had 
incurred  positive  chastisements,  for  every  grievous  fault  merits 
eternal  punishment. 

If  man  was  not  irrevocably  damned  immediately  after  his  sin, 
us  the  fallen  angels  were,  he  owes  it  to  the  mercy  of  God.  It  is 
probable  that  the  Almighty  showed  himself  merciful  to  man, 
because  the  latter  had  not  been  as  guilty  as  the  devil.  In  fact, 
the  angel  was  a  creature  supmor  in  intelligence  to  man,  conse- 
quently he  understood  his  fault  tetter,  and  \vas  more  ungrateful 
and  more  guilty.  Moreover,  all  the  circumstances  of  the  sin  of 
the  fallen  angel  are  comprised  in  pride,  the  most  grievous  of 
sins,  while  man's  attention  was  divided  and  consequently  less, 
being  directed  to  an  exterior  object  -the  forbidden  fruit.  More- 
over, the  rebel  angel  had  not  been  incited  to  sin  by  any  exterior 
temptation,  while  Eve  may  have  been  in  a  manner  confused  on 
hearing  the  serpent  speak,  in  itself  a  supernatural  act;  and 
Adam  may  have  been  shaken  by  ii\^  wife's  words,  when  she 
called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  she  was  not  dead,  although 
she  had  eaten  the  forbidden  fruit.  Let  us  add  also  that,  accord- 
ing to  the  remark  of  St.  Thomas,'  the  rebel  angels  were  incapable 
of  repentance,  because  it  is  in  the  nature  of  mere  spirits  to  ad- 
here to  a  determination  once  taken ;  while  man,  by  reason  of  his 
twofold  nature,  corporal  and  spiritual,  is  changeable  and  various, 


'  Qen.  iii.  10. 


<  Sum.  i.,  q.  64,  a.  2, 


18 


ORSAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


..SO  that  after  having  sinned  he  remained  capable  of  repenting 
and  doing  penance. 

Transmission  of  Adam^s  or  Original  Sin. 

Had  our  first  parents  remained  faithful  to  God,  they  would 
have  transmitted  to  their  descendants  the  supernatural  gifts 
which  they  had  received  ;  the  loss  of  these  gifts  was  not  only  a 
personal  loss:  it  extended  to  their  posterity,  so  that  they  drew 
the  greatest  misfortunes  on  the  human  race. 

The  design  which  God  had  entertained  of  making  us  partici- 
pate through  Adam  in  original  justice  and  sanctity  merits  all 
our  gratitude ;  but  the  misfortune  which  has  deprived  us  of  this 
gift  through  Adam's  fault  diminishes  in  naught  the  greatness  of 
the  benefit  intended  for  us,  and  we  have  no  right  to  complain ; 
we  find  ourselves  in  this  respect  in  the  same  position  as  the  chil- 
dren of  a  vassal,  to  whom  his  prince  had  promised  honors  and 
fortune  for  himself  and  his  descendants,  in  return  for  his  fidelity, 
and  who  was  subsequently  deprived  of  them  for  his  crimes. 

Original  Sin — Its  Existence. 

Adam's  sin  was  transmitted  with  its  consequences  to  the  human 
race,  so  that  men  are  born  guilty.  The  Council  of  Trent  thus  ex- 
presses this  truth :  "  If  any  one  asserts  that  the  prevarication  of 
Adam  injured  himself  alone  and  not  his  posterity,  and  that  the 
holiness  and  justice  received  of  God,  which  he  lost,  he  lost  for 
himself  alone  and  not  for  us  also,  or  that  he,  being  defiled  by  the 
sin  of  disobedience,  has  only  transixised  death  and  pains  of  the 
body  into  the  whole  human  race,  but  not  sin  also,  which  is  the 
death  of  the  soul,  let  him  be  anathema ;  whereas  he  contradicts 
the  apostle  who  says :  *  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
and  by  sin  death,  and  so  sin  passed  upon  all  men,  in  whom  all 
have  sinned.' "  * 

This  doctrine  is  founded  on  holy  Scripture :  "  Behold  I  was  con- 
ceived in  iniquity,  and  in  sins  did  my  mother  conceive  me,"  ex- 
claimed David.*    All  interpreters,  whether  Jewish  or  Christian, 


'  Seas,  v.,  can.  2;  Bum.  v.  12. 


»P8. 1.  7. 


CHRIST  WEEPING  OVER  JERUSALEM. 


understan 
any  actua 
even  sup} 
firmity  of 
as  the  cai 
the  world 
under  th( 
visited  frt 
understand 
sin  is  tak€ 
St.  Paul 
entered  ir 
upon  all 
offence  of 
tice  of  one 
bedience 
obedience 
that: 

1.  Deati 
men  are  su 
infants  ah 
Adam.  !N 
Adam's  dii 

2.  Justil 
v/hom  the 
also  are  juf 
aiauner  im 
condemnat 
ble  on  acc( 

3.  The  ; 
posed  to  t] 
Now  this  j 
belongs  to 
to  us  is  an 
which  is  o 


■    .,.»■    ','■■-  ■ 

OmOINAL  BIK— ITS  BZIBTBNOB. 


79 


understand  this  passage  as  referring  to  original  sin,  and  not  to 
any  actual  sins  committed  by  the  parents  of  David.  We  cannot 
even  suppose  that  David  wished  to  attribute  tLe  weakness  or  in- 
firmity of  which  he  complained  to  the  personal  sins  of  his  parents 
as  the  cause,  for  they  had  been  just,  or  to  hold  them  up  before 
the  world'  as  the  victims  of  uncontrollable  passions.  Moreover, 
under  the  name  of  iniquity  and  sin,  with  which  he  says  he  was 
visited  from  the  very  first  moment  of  his  existence,  we  are  not  to 
understand  merely  concupiscence,  but  a  real  fault,  for  the  word 
sin  is  taken  in  this  sense  throughout  the  psalm. 

St.  Paul  expresses  ^  imself  thus :  "  Wherefore  as  by  one  man  sin 
entered  into  this  ^(rorld,  and  by  sin  death,  and  so  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  in  whom  all  have  sinned.  Therefore,  as  by  the 
offence  of  one  unto  all  men  to  condemnation,  so  also  by  the  jus- 
tice  of  one  unto  all  men  to  justification  of  life.  For  as  by  the  diso- 
bedience of  one  man  many  were  made  sinners,  so  also  by  the 
obedience  of  one  many  shall  1  e  made  just."  *  Hence  we  conclude 
that: 

1.  Death  entered  into  the  world  by  the  sin  of  Adam,  and  all 
men  are  subject  to  death  because  they  have  sinned  in  Adam.  But 
infants  also  are  subject  tf  death,  then  they  equally  sinned  in 
Adam.  Now  they  have  not  sinned  personally  by  imitating 
Adam's  disobedience,  consequently  Adam's  sin  became  their  sin. 

2.  Justification  through  Jesuri  Christ  is  applied  to  all  those  to 
\/hom  the  condemnation  through  Adam  extended.  Now  infants 
also  are  justified  through  Jesus  Christ,  then  infants  have  in  a  like 
:aauner  ineurred  condemnation  through  Adam.  But  there  is  no 
condemnation  without  sin ;  consequently  infants  are  really  culpa- 
ble on  account  of  Adam's  sin. 

3.  The  justice  conferred  on  men  through  Jesus  Christ  is  op- 
posed to  the  sin  which  has  been  communicated  to  them  by  Adam. 
Now  this  justice  is  an  interior  justice,  residing  in  our  soul,  and 
belongs  to  us  properly ;  then  the  sin  which  Adam  has  transmitted 
to  us  is  an  iniquity,  an  interior  fault,  inherent  in  our  soul,  a  fault 
which  is  ours.   This  fault  is  distinct  from  the  liability  to  corporal 


'Rnra.  T.  13  18,19. 


80 


OBSAT  ABTI0LB8  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


miseries  and  death,  for  all  that  is  not  opposed  to  the  justice  con- 
ferred by  Christ,  inasmuch  as  the  just  themselves  have  been 
afflicted  with  miseries  and  death. 

The  apostle  says  also :  "  We  were  by  nature  children  of  wrath." ' 
Can  a  child  be  the  object  of  the  divine  wrath,  if  it  is  not  sullied 
by  sin,  and  can  it  be  guilty,  unless  by  inheriting  another's  sin  ? 

All  tradition  testifies  in  favor  of  this  doctrine  to  such  a  point, 
that  St.  Augustine  could  say  to  a  Pelagian,  "  I  have  not  invented 
original  sin,  which  has  always  been  the  object  of  Catholic  faith ; 
but  thou  who  deniest  it,  thou  art  incontesiably  an  innovator  and 
a  heretic."  *  In  fact,  we  find  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  clearly 
expressed  in  the  works  of  the  most  ancient  Fathers  and  ecclesi- 
astical writers,  such  as  Justin  Martyr,  St.  Irenaeus,  St.  Cyprian, 
Tertullian.  All  the  innovators  who  separated  from  the  Church 
before  Pelagius,  retained  the  dogma  of  oiiginal  sin,  and  conse- 
quently must  have  found  it  in  the  Church.  Scarcely  had  Pelagius 
begun  to  deny  it,  when  he  was  attacked  on  all  sides ;  twenty- 
four  provincial  councils  were  held  on  this  matter  in  the  space  of 
nineteen  years,  from  412  to  431.  Pelagius  himself  was  so  con- 
vinced at  the  outset  of  the  opposition  that  his  new  doctrine  would 
meet  with  among  the  faithful,  that  he  did  not  venture  to  declare 
it  openly  at  first,  and  even  was  in  fear  of  being  stoned  by  the 
people. 

The  practice  of  the  Church  presupposes  faith  in  the  existence 
of  original  sin.  The  Church  administers  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism to  all,  even  infanta,  for  the  remission  of  sin,  as  it  is  declared 
in  the  Creed  of  Constantinople,  and  is  evident  from  the  ceremo- 
nies of  baptism  and  from  various  passages  of  Scripture.*  Bap- 
tism opens  heaven  to  infants ;  it  follows  that  they  also  have  con- 
tracted sin,  inasmuch  as  it  is  sin  that  excludes  from  heaven. 

Nature  of  Original  Sin.  "^ 

Original  sin  is  a  real  sin,  for  according  to  the  gospel,  it  prevents 
man  from  reaching  his  last  end,  and  it  is  effaced  by  baptism/ 


lEphes.  ii.  8. 
>Bom.  vi.  4;  Eph.  y. 


*  De  Nupt.  ot  concup.,  lib.  ii.,  o.  12. 
*Jobniii.S. 


NATURE  OF  ORIGINAL  BIN. 


81 


Now  it  is  sin  alone  that  closes  heaven  against  us,  and  baptism, 
according  to  the  Creeds,  was  instituted  for  the  remission  of  sin. 
Consequently  original  sin  implies  what  really  constitutes  a  sin. 
According  to  the  Council  of  Trent  original  sin  is  the  death  of  the 
soul,  and  baptism  remits  the  fault,  and  all  that  is,  properly  speak- 
ing, sin.'  All  these  terms  indicate  a  siii  in  the  proper  meaning  of 
the  word. 

To  explain  tho  nature  "of  original  sin,  we  must  distinguish  two 
meanings  of  the  word  8m*  The  word  means  first,  the  free  trans- 
gression of  a  commandment,  which  is  an  act;  next,  the  effect  of 
this  transgression  on  the  soul,  that  is  to  say,  a  state  of  the  soul. 
It  is  in  this  last  sense  that  theologians  say  of  a  man :  He  has  sin 
on  his  conscience,  he  is  a  sinner,  he  died  in  a  state  of  sin.  The 
effect  of  an  act  ma\  be  considered,  under  a  certain  aspect,  as 
being  identical  with  that  act ;  and  if  the  act  is  guilty,  its  effect 
can  be  called  sin  in  the  proper  sense,  of  the  word.  For  example, 
the  heat  communicated  by  the  fire  to  a  body,  on  becoming  a  state 
in  that  body,  does  not  differ  from  what  it  was  in  the  fire ;  so 
separation  from  God  as  a  state  is  the  effect  and  continuation  of 
the  separation  from  God  by  sin  as  an  act.  Hence,  he  who  turns 
away  and  withdraws  from  the  sun  remains  in  darkness  till  he  re- 
places himself  in  the  rays  of  that  luminary.  Separation  from 
God,  who  is  the  last  end  of  man,  has  become  the  state  of  the 
whole  human  race  through  Adam's  fault.  Man  is  bom  in  this 
alienation  from  God,  inasmuch  as  at  his  birth  he  is  deprived  of 
sanctifying  grace,  which  alone  unites  him  to  God.  However,  by 
this  alienation  from  God  must  not  be  understood  a  real  hatred, 
since  the  sinner,  who  is  alienated  from  God  by  the  loss  of  sancti- 
fying njrace,  does  not,  on  that  account,  hate  him  constantly.  If 
in  the  case  of  man,  the  privation  of  sanctifying  grace  had  resulted 
not  from  a  fault,  but  from  a  design  determined  upon  by  God  to 
create  man  without  that  grace,  it  would  be  regarded  simply  as 
the  lacking  of  the  highest  perfection,  but  not  as  a  stain,  and  as 
an  object  of  horror  in  the  eyes  of  God.  It  derives  this  odious 
character  exclusively  from  its  connection  with  the  guilty  conduct 


-m 


■  S«BS.  ▼.,  can.  2,  8,  8.         *  Compare  Bellarmlno,  De  amist.  gratiaB.  lib.  v.,  obap.  17. 


88  ORXAT  ABTXOLM  OF  TBI  OATHOIJO  FAITH^ 

of  Adam,  who  caused  the  loss  of  a  gift  which  Ood  had  intended 
for  the  whole  human  race,  subject  to  the  condition  that  our  RrHt 
parents  should  remain  faithful.  Thus,  according  to  8t.  Ansel lu 
St.  Thomas,  Bellarmine,  and  also  the  must  ancient  Fathers  of  the 
Church,  original  sin  consists  essentially  in  the  privation  of  oriir- 
inal  justice,  that  is  to  say,  of  sanctifying  grace,  or  in  the  alit'im- 
tion  from  God.  Alienation  from  God  and  loss  of  sanctify iii<; 
grace  are  one  and  the  same  thing,  because,  on  the  one  hand,  th« 
possession  of  sanctifying  grace  constitutes  a  union  with  God,  and 
on  the  other,  alienation  from  God  must  be  considered  as  a  8])()t 
abhorrent  to  God.  All  the  sentimental  objections  which,  for 
example,  say  that  an  infant  has  done  no  evil,  are  dispelled,  when 
we  conceive  original  sin  as  the  privation  of  original  justice,  which 
was  a  pure  gift  of  God. 

Original  sin  thus  understood,  contains  all  that  constitutes  a 
real  sin,  namely,  privation  of  justice  or  alienation  from  God,  re- 
sulting from  a  fault  committed.  In  this  sense,  original  sin  \» 
really  a  fault  for  every  man,  because  this  privation  of  justice  and 
sanctity,  or  this  alienation  frr»m  God  has  been  the  act  of  the  will 
of  him  who  was  the  father  of  the  human  race,  as  St.  Thomas  says. 
The  same  doctor  compares  the  sin  of  Adam,  as  head  of  the  human 
race,  with  the  relation  which  exists  in  men  between  the  soul 
which  sins  and  the  members.  That  a  man  should  sin  by  one  of 
his  members,  say  his  hand,  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  will  to 
commit  the  evil  should  exist  in  that  very  member ;  it  is  sufficient 
that  it  is  found  in  what  constitutes  the  principal  part  of  man, 
the  soul.  Just  as  the  sin  of  the  soul  is  communicated  to  the 
members  of  the  body,  concludes  the  holy  doctor,  even  so,  the  sir 
of  Adam,  who  was  the  head  of  the  human  race,  has  extended  to 
all  men,  as  being  his  members. 

According  to  this,  original  sin  does  not  consist  in  the  concu- 
piscence. The  innovators  of  the  sixteenth  century  pretended 
that  concupiscence  was  a  sin  in  the  heathen,  while  it  was  not  im- 
puted to  Christians.  This  doctrine  is  in  direct  opposition  to 
holy  Scripture,  which  declares  that  concupiscence  is  not  de 
stroyed  by  baptism,  and  that  it  remains  in  the  most  holy  of  men ; ' 

I  Romani  vii.  88. 


OOHBIQUBirOXS  07  OBIOnfAL  819. 


88 


that  baptism  produces  in  us  a  renewal  of  life,  wbiob  is  compared 
to  our  Saviour's  resurrection.'  But  such  a  renewal  is  iocompat 
ible  with  the  non-imputation  o(  a  sin  which  actually  remains. 

Nor  does  original  sin  consist  in  the  disturbing  of  the  harmony 
between  reason  and  the  senses.  In  the  first  place  this  harmony 
did  not  constitute  the  state  of  original  justice,  it  was  only  ita 
complement.  Baptism  does  not  restore  this  harmony;  then, 
under  this  view  we  should  have  to  acknowledge  that  baptism  does 
not  efface  original  sin. 

Original  sin  does  not  consist  of  death  and  corporal  miseries ; 
for  death  and  corporal  miseries  subsist  after  sin  is  forgiven,  and 
are  moreover  presented  by  the  apoatles  as  distinct  from  sin.*  Nor 
does  it  consist  in  a  certain  alteration  or  disorganization  of  nature 
in  consequence  of  the  eating  of  a  noxious  fruit,  for  a  sickly  state 
aud  a  certain  paralysis  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  which  would 
be  the  result  in  the  child,  would  not  render  him  a  sinner,  and 
would  not  exclude  him  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Finally,  we  are  not  to  consider  original  sin  as  a  mere  external 
imputation  made  to  us  of  Adam's  personal  sin.  For  if  the  jus* 
tice  which  Jesus  Christ  communicates  to  us  is  a  truly  interior 
justice,  it  follows  that  the  sin  which  is  diametrically  opposed  to 
this  justice  is  also  truly  interior. 

GONSEQUENOES   OF   ORIGINAL   SiN. 

Original  sin  had,  as  one  of  its  consequences,  the  falling  away 
from  divine  adoption,  the  loss  or  privation  of  supernatural  life, 
and  of  the  right  to  heaven.  For  all  these  goods  were  included 
in  sanctifying  grace,  and  are  restored  to  us  only  by  baptism. 
Consequently  original  sin  deprives  us  of  them.  Our  Saviour  de- 
clai'es,  tiiat  whoso  is  not  bom  again  of  water  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.*  The  apostle  adds 
that,  ''just  as  the  sin  of  a  single  man,  Adam,  extended  the  con- 
demnation to  all  men,  so  the  justice  of  one,  Jesus  Christ,  secures 
for  all  the  justification  of  life."'  We  find  here  condemnation, 
death,  the  wrath  of  God  opposed  to  felicity,  life,  and  the  friend- 


BomanB  yi.  8, 4. 


» lb.  7. 


'  John  iii,  5. 


>  Itomani  t.  18. 


84 


OBBAX  ABTI0LE8  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


ship  of  God ;  now  as  life,  the  friendship  of  God,  and  felicity  are 
the  fruits  of  baptism,  God's  wrath,  death,  and  condemnation  are 
the  effects  of  sin. 

However,  by  the  damnation  which  man  has  incurred  in  conse- 
quence of  Adam's  sin,  is  not  to  be  understood  the  eternal  pain  ol' 
hell.  Innocent  III.  declares  formally,  that  the  punishment  cf 
original  sin  is  the  privation  of  the  intuitive  vision  of  God,  and 
that  the  punishment  of  actual  sin  is  the  eternal  pains  of  hell. 
Other  theologians,  especially  St.  Bonaventure  and  St.  Thomas, 
express  themselves  in  the  same  way.  The  latter  declares  that  the 
punishment  of  original  sin  consists  in  the  death  of  the  body,  and 
in  exclusion  from  the  life  of  glory,  and  not  in  the  pain  of  the 
senses.* 

Original  sin  had,  as  another  consequence,  the  darkening  of  the 
understanding,  the  evil  inclinations  of  the  will,  and  the  concu- 
piscence of  the  flesh.  "The  imagination  and  thought  of  man's 
heart  are  prone  to  evil  from  their  youth."'  The  experience  of 
every  day  shows  the  effect  of  sensual  inclinations,  concupiscence, 
and  passions  on  the  mind,  which  they  obscure,  and  can  lead  to 
form  erroneous  Judgments,  and  accept  false  principles.  We  then 
easily  perceive  how  darkness  can  arise  in  the  "understanding  when 
the  senses  ai'e  no  longer  restrained  by  the  reins  imposed  upon  them 
by  the  supernatural  gifts,  and  which  held  them  in  subjection  to 
reason  and  the  will.  This  darkening  of  the  understanding  then 
reacted  naturally  in  a  destructive  manner  on  the  will,  which 
should  have  been  enlightened  by  it,  and  moreover,  the  violence 
of  the  passions  thwarted  and  paralyzed  the  naturally  good  incli- 
nations of  the  soul.  It  is  therefore  true  to  say  that  the  natural 
faculties  of  man  have  been  weakened  in  consequence  of  the  loss 
of  original  justice,  and  the  letting  loose  of  the  passions  which  has 
resulted  therefrom. 

Original  justice,  in  so  far  as  it  comprehends  sanctifying  grace 
with  the  supernatural  faculties,  or  infused  virtues  of  faith,  hope, 
and  charity,  is  restored  to  us  by  baptism ;  but  we  do  not  recover 
the  perfect  submission  of  the  flesh  to  the  spirit.    The  apostle 


'  9*  iii<i  ^.  57,  a.  6  ;  ^.  1,  a.  4. 


*  Gen.  viii.  81, 


OONSEQUENOES  OF  0BI<H1«AL  SOT. 


85 


bewails  this  in  the  following  words :  ^'  I  see  another  law  in  my 
members  fighting  against  the  law  of  my  mind."*  Indeed,  what 
disorder  do  we  not  behold  in  the  heart  of  man !  He  thirsts  for 
truth,  and  when  he  thinks  that  he  possesses  it  he  has  often 
grasped  only  a  deceitful  appearance.  The  long  career  of  the  hu- 
man mind  is  marked  by  the  grossest  errors,  so  that  if  we  consider 
their  number,  the  history  of  science  may  be  called  the  history 
of  human  eiTors.  The  same  disoi  der  reigns  in  the  moral  lite  of 
humanity.  We  might  say,  that  man  longs  for  good  and  commits 
evil.  He  often  aspires  to  supernatural  goods  and. suddenly  falls 
to  the  basest  enjoyments.  He  recognizes  his  weakness,  feels  all 
the  shame,  and  lets  himself  be  dazzled  by  his  greatness,  sets  hizii- 
self  up  as  the  center  of  all  that  surrounds  him,  assumes  to  be 
lord  of  the  universe.  We  can  explain  the  empire  which  the  senses 
have  acquired  over  reason,  by  the  many  wanderings  which  dis- 
honor humanity,  as  well  as  by  the  penances  and  vigils  which  the 
saints  have  imposed  on  themselves  in  order  to  conquer  concupis- 
cence. Man  has  become  an  enigma.  "  When  he  has  attained  the 
highest  degree  of  civilization,"  says  Chateaubriand,  "  he  is  at  the 
lowest  step  of  morality :  if  he  is  free  he  is  coarse;  if  his  manners 
are  polished  he  forges  chains  for  himself;  if  he  is  brilliant  in 
science  his  imagination  dies  out ;  if  he  becomes  a  poet  he  loses 
solidity ;  his  heart  gains  at  the  expense  of  his  head,  and  his  head 
at  the  expense  of  his  heart.  He  grows  poor  in  ideas  in  proportion 
as  he  grows  rich  in  sentiment ;  he  contracts  in  sentiment  as  his 
ideas  expand.  Power  makes  him  hard  and  dry;  weakness  brings 
him  grace."  * 

Another  consequence  of  original  sin  is  all  kinds  of  misery,  suf- 
ferings, pain,  and  finally  death.  "  Great  labor  is  created  foi*  all 
men,  and  a  heavy  yoke  is  upon  the  children  of  Adam,  from  the 
day  of  their  coming  out  of  their  mother's  womb,  until  the  day  of 
their  burial  into  the  mother  of  all.  Their  thoughts  and  fears  of 
the  heart,  their  imagination  of  things  to  come,  and  the  day  of 
their  end ;  from  him  that  sitteth  on  a  throne  of  glory,  'unto  him 
that  is  humbled  in  earth  and  ashes ;  from  him  that  weareth  piu> 


I  Bom.  vii.  28. 


>  Genius  of  Christianity. 


86 


OBEAT  ARTIOLBS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


pie,  and  bearetli  the  crown,  even  to  him  that  is  covered  with 
rough  linen ;  wrath,  envy,  trouble,  unquietnoss,  and  the  fear  of 
death,  continual  anger  and  strife." '  The  threshold  of  life  is  for 
man  the  threshold  of  tribulation.  He  waters  his  cradle  with 
tears,  and  his  first  utterance  is  a  cry  of  pain.  While  all  other 
creatures  enjoy  existence  in  peace,  man  drags  him  ft'oin  spot 
to  spot,  sick  and  an  exile.  He  calls  aloud  for  happiness,  and  sor- 
row only  answers  his  call.  Joy,  even  when  he  tastes  it,  is  so 
vain  and  fleeting,  that  if  it  lasts  but  a  few  moments,  it  gives  his 
features  a  look  of  insanity.  The  wise  ^en  of  old  accused  nature 
of  acting  toward  man  not  like  a  real  mother,  but  like  a  step- 
mother,  and  of  having  in  a  manner  flung  him  into  the  world,  with 
nakedness,  weakness,  and  misery,  while  all  other  living  beings 
have  been  the  object  of  her  most  tender  care.  When  man  has 
for  a  few  years  dragged  out  a  wretched  existence,  suflFered  every 
kind  of  pain,  and  passed  through  a  host  of  vexations  and  alarms, 
then  death  arrives,  after  having  dogged  him  from  the  first  mo- 
ment of  his  existence,  and  dashed  the  brief  joy  and  comfort  he 
has  had.  He  has  constantly  beheld  his  tenement  of  clay  crum- 
bling to  its  ruin.  Hence  the  sighs  that  so  often  escape  from 
his  heart  and  lips.  "  We  who  are  in  this  tabernacle,  do  groan  be- 
ing burtbenea,  because  we  would  not  be  unclothed,  but  clothed 
upon."*  There  have  been  philosophers  who  compared  man  to 
the  ruins  of  a  superb  structure.  Indeed,  would  not  one  say,  tliat 
man's  remarkable  faculties,  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  compose  a 
symmetrical  whole,  are,  though  magnificent,  the  ruins  of  a  struct- 
ure where  once  all  was  harmonv,  and  which  must  have  been 
intended  for  a  surely  eternal  duration  ?  ::  1 1  "  : 

To  the  consequences  of  original  sin  must  be  added  the  chastise- 
ment that  has  fallen  upon  the  whole  earth,  which  had  been  crea- 
ted for  man.  Earth  had  been  for  Adam  a  paradise  of  delight. 
Immediately  after  the  sin  of  the  first  man  God  said  to  him: 
"Cursed  is  the  earth  in  thy  work,  with  labors  shalt  thou  eat 
thereof  ajl  the  days  of  thy  life.  Thorns  and  thistles  shall  it  bring 
forth  to  thee."*    Man  was  to  be  punished  in  all  that  he  could 


>  JBccliM.  zl.  1-0. 


» 2  Cor.  V.  4. 


•  Gen.  iil.  17, 18. 


00N8BQUBN0BS  OF  OBIGINAL  BUT. 


87 


look  upon  as  his  own,  or  as  in  any  sort  constituting  part  of  him* 
self ;  thus  in  his  children,  who  were  doomed  to  misery,  and  in 
all  nature,  infected  aa  it  were  by  his  prevarication.  He  was  still 
king  of  creation,  but  a  dethroned  moaarch,  and  henceforth  found 
himself  in  open  war  with  nature  revolting  against  him.  "  And 
let  the  fear  and  dread  of  you  be  upon  all  the  beasts  of  the  earth, 
and  upon  all  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  all  that  move  upon  the 
earth." '  This  sentence,  pronounced  by  God,  fixes  for  all  ftiture 
time  the  relations  of  man  to  the  animal  world.  The  empire 
which  man  exercised  through  love  is  gone ;  it  is  only  by  force 
and  by  the  fear  he  inspires,  that  he  can  maintain  his  rights,  just 
as  he  himself,  after  shaking  off  the  sweet  sovereignty  of  God, 
has  been  brought  back  to  duty  only  by  the  incensed  voice  of  his 
Creator.  No  longer  doei^;  man  bear  on  his  brow  and  in  his  whole 
being  the  bright  refleci  >f  his  divine  resemblance,  and  con- 
sequently he  no  longer  possesses  that  complete  sway,  after  the 
likeness  of  God's  empire,  over  nature.  Man  is  a  rebel,  and  he 
finds  rebels  in  all  the  creatures  that  surround  him. 

It  has  not  pleased  God  to  restore  to  man  with  sanctifying 
grace,  the  empire  which  Adam  had  exercised  over  nature.  He 
has  nevertheless  granted  it  as  a  special  privilege  to  some  of  his 
servants,  whose  innocence  in  some  manner  likened  them  to  man 
in  his  state  of  innocence.  It  is  related  in  the  life  of  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi,  that  he  maintained  a  mysterious  and  familiar  inter- 
course with  animals,  and  especially  with  birds.  And  we  find 
similar  traits  in  the  life  of  St.  Julius,  St.  Bridget  of  Kiklare, 
Blessed  Sebastian  de  la  Aparicion,  Venerable  Joseph  Anchieta, 
S.  J. 

"When  we  look  at  what  the  Church  teaches  us  of  the  fall  of 
man,  we  see  how  important  the  dogma  of  original  sin  is  for 
social  life.  It  overthrows  from  the  foundation  all  the  systems 
which  pretend  to  realize  peifect  happiness  for  man  through  ma- 
terial well-being.  This  pretended  wisdom  of  the  world,  which 
makes  temporal  prosperity  the  highest  aim,  says  that  man  has 
rot  fallen ;  that  his  life  is  not  a  term  of  trial  and  expiation ; 


» Gen.  ix,  a. 


--f-' 


88 


GBBAT  ABTI0LE8  OF  THE  OATBOLIO  FAITH. 


that  he  is  bom  good,  and  thpt  he  is  always  susceptible  of  higher 
perfection,  and  capable  of  enjoying  a  more  perfect  happiness  on 
earth ;  and  that  he  is  to  find  happiness  in  the  complete  gratifica- 
tion of  all  the  inclinations  of  his     loure.  <• 

It  is  not  difficult  to  demonstr      that  these  principles  are  false. 

It  is  not  true  that  man  is  born  «ofcally  good.  The  miserable  lot 
which  he  has  to  bewail  is  a  penalty  inflicted  on  p  fault.  We  must 
not  then  seek  the  cause  of  the  miseries  to  which  man  is  subjected  in 
the  imperfection  of  laws  and  forms  of  government,  or  in  the  reaf 
or  supposed  usurpations  of  any  classes.  Men  may  change  as 
they  will  the  existing  state  of  things,  make  new  laws,  establish 
other  forms  of  government,  abolish  vested  rights,  break  off  en- 
tirely with  the  past;  but  they  never  succeed  in  checking  human 
misery  in  its  source ;  this  source  will  exist  as  long  as  it  remains 
true  that  the  human  race  fell  from  its  primitive  state  by  sin,  and 
is  condemned  to  a  life  of  expiation.       "?  ,  ^  ^    '  '  i 

It  is  false  that  man  can  by  his  own  strength  attain  the  highest 
degree  of  perfection.  His  understanding  is  darkened ;  his  will 
weakened ;  gross  errors  and  the  saddest  wanderings  of  the  heart 
will  always  be  the  lot  of  man  when  abandoned  to  himself ;  f'>r 
sin  has  troubled  and  destroyed  the  harmony  between  the  mind 
and  the  sense?.       ■    • 

It  is  false  that  raan^s  happiness  consists  in  the  possession  and 
enjoyment  of  earthly  goods  and  sensual  joys;  he  will  rather  find 
his  curse  there.  For  the  satisfaction  of  the  senses,  the  lowest 
element  in  man,  can  only  do  more  to  disturb  the  order  and  equilib- 
rium of  his  faculties,  and  consequently  prevent  hirn  utterly  from 
attaining  his  true  perfection  and  real  felicity.  Man  attains  his 
t/ue  ielicity,  so  far  as  that  is  possible  in  this  \/orld,  only  on  the 
condition  of  returningt  oward  his  primitive  state  by  submission 
to  God,  and  by  resuming  the  empire  over  his  senses. 

It  IS  not  forbidden  to  labor  to  increase  the  temporal  well- 
being  of  humanity;  on  the  contrary,  the  efforts  made  in  that 
direction  are  laudable.  But  we  must  not  desire  to  exceed  the 
bounds  of  possibility,  nor  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  man  is  com- 
posed of  two  different  elements,  one  of  which  should  be  subor- 
dinate to  the  other.    We  must  beware  of  materializing  and  de* 


Consequences  of  original  sin. 


89 


grading  man  by  offering  him  only  sensual  satisfaction :  this  would 
only  be  to  awaken  unceasingly  new  passions  in  him,  and  produce 
in  him  such  a  state  of  excitement  that  every  obstacle  to  the 
gratification  of  his  desires  and  pretensions  would  rouse  him  to 
fury,  and  make  him  vent  his  rage  like  a  volcano,  desolating  all 
around  him.  The  experience  of  recent  days  proves  this  only 
too  well. 

The  right  of  property  attested  by  sound  reason,  by  history, 
and  by  revelation,  is  founded  with  certainty  on  the  dogma  of 
original  sin.  We  can  thus  conclude  with  St.  Thomas:  1.  Man 
is  created  to  the  likeness  of  God,  to  whom  the  universe  belongs. 
"  The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fullness  thereof;  the  world  and 
all  they  that  dwell  therein."*  Consequently  (2)  man  also  can  pos- 
sess. God  himself  implied  this  when  he  said :  "  Let  us  make  man 
to  our  image  and  likeness,  and  let  him  have  dominion  over  the 
fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the  whole  earth."'  And  why  is  the  world 
the  property  of  God  ?  Because  it  is  his  work.  "The  intelligence 
of  God  conceived  the  plan  of  the  world,  his  will  realized  it. 
But  man  also,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  forms  in  his  mind  the 
plan  of  his  home,  which  is  a  little  world,  and  he  executes  his 
plan  by  the  power  of  his  will.  What  he  in  a  manner  creates  is 
therefore  his  property,  as  the  world  is  the  property  of  God, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  created  by  him.  To  be  sure  man  is  but  the 
vassal  of  God,  from  whom  he  receives  the  matter  which  he 
appropriates  by  his  labor,  and  besides  with  life  he  receives  the 
power  of  action.* 

Man  having  fallen,  needs  to  possess  something  as  property,  be- 
cause in  the  actual  condition  of  humanity,  property  in  common 
is  impossible.* 

Man  is  tormented  by  many  wants,  and  the  earth  smitten  by  a 
curse  refuses  to  gratify  them.  He  is  forced  to  draw  his  subsist- 
ence from  it  by  labor ;  in  other  terras,  it  is  by  labor  that  he  is 
obliged  to  create  property.  Will  any  one  pretend  that  the  whole 
human  race  ought  to  till  the  earth  in  common,  and  thence  draw 
products  for  the  common  utility  ?   Certainly  not ;  for  in  that  case 


>  Ps.  x^i\\.  1.  »  Gen.  i.  36.  »  S.  2,  2,  q.  06,  a.  1. 


♦8.2,2,^.66,  a.  2. 


90 


QBEAT  ABTIOLU^  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  7AITH. 


the  earth  would  not  suffice  for  the  wants  of  men.  A  property 
possessed  in  common  is  seldom  so  well  cultivated,  be^'ause  from 
the  natural  repugnance  to  punishment,  each  one  willingly  aban- 
dons the  care  and  labor  to  others,  as  experience  abundantly 
proves.  In  order  to  obviate  the  g^"  test  trouble  and  disorder,  a 
determinate  part  of  work  must  be  ligned  to  each,  the  common 
goods  must  be  allotted.  But  then  we  must  not  expect  that  all 
will  work  alike  and  produce  the  same.  What  would  then  become 
of  the  goods  acquired  by  him  who  worked  more,  if  individual 
property  was  not  permitted,  and  he  was  not  permitted  to  enjoy 
them  ?  Should  they  go  to  the  slothful,  who  had  worked  less  and 
acquired  less?  But  who  does  not  see  that  the  number  of  the  lat- 
ter would  increase  beyond  all  limit,  if  sloth  gave  a  right  to  the 
goods  acquired  by  others  ?  Will  not  the  number  of  the  industri- 
ous diminish  in  the  same  ratio,  if  they  know  that  their  toil  is  to 
serve  only  to  maintain  the  rest  in  idleness  ? 

Who  can  calculate  the  troubles  and  disorders  that  would  flow 
from  a  necessary  and  oft-repeated  division  of  the  common  prop- 
erty ?  The  dissensions  which  arise,  even  among  those  bound  to- 
gether by  ties  of  kindred,  when  property  is  to  be  divided,  lead  us 
to  conclude  that  general  divisions  would  be  attended  with  far 
more  terrible  consequences.  Murders  by  the  thousand  would  en- 
sue, and  the  earth,  that  was  to  be  changed  into  a  paradise,  would 
become  a  horrible  desert.  How  can  such  atrocity  be  compared 
to  the  poverty  which  results  to  some  members  of  the  human  race 
from  the  fact  of  individual  property !     t"i    -"    ^^^  ^ 

Some  may  say  that  religious  congregations  show  that  the  hold- 
ing of  property  in  common  is  practicable,  and  can  be  practiced  on 
a  large  scale.  But  let  us  first  remark  that  what  is  possible  when 
practiced  in  a  small  association  is  not  necessarily  realizable  in  a 
larger  society.  He  who  wishes  to  live  in  such  an  association  must 
restrain  himself  before  all  else  to  practice  the  vows  of  obedience, 
poverty,  and  chastity,  that  is,  to  mortify  his  passions.  Where  this 
condition  is  not  fulfilled  community  life  is  only  a  ch7mera.  We 
must  at  least  obtain  that  pure  charity  and  complete  detachment 
from  earthly  goods  which  induced  the  primitive  Christians  to  put 
all  they  possessed  in  common.    Some  elect  souls  would  then  per- 


0ONSEQUEN0E8  OF  OBIQIKAL  BIIT. 


91 


haps  be  found  to  sell  their  goods  and  give  the  price  to  the  poor, 
and  then  live  themselves  by  what  their  labor  in  common  might 
produce.    In  a  word,  the  necessity  of  individual  property  is  felt 
less,  as  man  endeavors  to  destroy  within  himself  the  evil  conse- 
quences of  original  sin ;  but  as  these  consequences  are  manifested 
to  this  day  in  all  their  intensity,  it  follows  that  nothing  is  more 
evident  than  the  necessity  of  individual  property.    The  miseries 
of  humanity,  too,  must  be  relieved  by  the  free  works  of  charity 
or  mercy,  to  which  the  Christian  religion  so  efficaciously  urges  us; 
and  is  not  this  done  daily  wherever  the  various  manifestations  of 
Christian  life  do  not  find  too  many  obstacles  ?   Just  as  God,  who 
wishes  above  all  the  salvation  of  souls,  extends  his  temporal  bene- 
fits to  all  that  live,  so  the  Church  has  always  sought  for  men 
not  only  heavenly,  but  also  temporal  blessings.    Always  ready 
to  succor  human  infirmity,  she  has  been  the  eye  of  the  blind,  the 
foot  of  the  cripple,  the  ear  of  the  deaf,  the  mother  of  the  orphan, 
the  teacher  of  the  ignorant,  the  protector  of  the  oppressed.  When 
new  misfortunes  strike  humanity  we  find  the  Church  at  once  bear- 
ing help  to  the  afflicted.   She  it  is  who  for  ages  has  harbored  the 
pilgrim,  and  guided  him  through  hostile  lands,  who  has  ransomed 
prison  rs,  nursed  the  leper  and  the  plague-stricken.    If,  on  the 
one  hBnd,  nature  is  an  inexhaustible  source  of  suffering,  on  the 
other  the  Church  is  an  ever-burning  furnace  of  charitable  works. 
She  has  gradually  communicated  her  spirit  of  beneficence  to 
human  legislation,  bat  she  has  always  been  whole  centuries  in 
advance  of  the  State,  so  that  her  charitable  institutions  had  at- 
tained perfection  when  the  Stcte  began  lo  think  of  erecting  some- 
thing similar.     It  was  Anthuaa,  a  Christian  virgin,  daughter  of 
the  unworthy  emperor  Constantine  Copronymus,  who  first  con- 
ceived and  carried  out  the  idea  and  plan  of  an  orphan  asylum, 
which  she  afterward  directed  with  a  perfect  order  and  a  maternal 
affection.     Such  is  the  origin  of  all  the  charitable  institutions 
which  cover  Christian  lands.     A  pious  priest,  a  poor  servant- 
girl  prays  fervently  at  the  foot  of  the  altar ;  and  behold,  the  plan 
of  a  great  work  is  conceived,  and  after  some  years  the  impossible 
is  realized.  History  stands  as  a  testimony  that  the  activity  of  the 
Church  for  such  works  has  increased  from  age  to  age,  where  she 


M 


OlIBAT  ABTIOLIS  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


is  not  fettered  by  the  public  powers.  But  inaHmuch  as  it  is  impos- 
sible to  destroy  all  the  miseries  in  this  world,  which  are  a  sequel 
of  original  sin,  the  Church  teaches  the  faithful  to  raise  their  eyes 
to  heaven  in  order  to  support  with  penance  and  resignation  the 
pains  of  this  life.  Knowing  the  human  heart,  she  can  pour  balm 
on  the  wounds  of  the  souL  This  the  advocates  of  t&e  indefinite 
progress  of  humanity  can  never  succeed  in  doing. 

Man's  greatest  happiness  on  earth  in  to  possess  a  likeness  to 
God.  Charles  IX.,  King  of  France,  one  day  asked  Tasso  whom 
he  regarded  as  the  happiest  ?  The  poet  replied  at  once,  "  (Jod." 
"  Every  one  knows  that,"  replied  the  king ;  "  but  I  would  know 
who  is  the  happiest  after  God  ? "  The  poet  answered  again :  "  He 
who  is  most  like  to  God."  A  reply  full  of  wisdom.  If  God  is  infi- 
nitely happy  and  perfect,  evidently  the  happiest  and  most  per- 
fect being  -ifter  God  is  the  one  who  approaches  nearest  to  him. 
Job  sits  before  his  door,  covered  with  ulcers  ;  his  very  sight  makes 
his  dearest  friends  recoil  with  horror.  But  the  eye  of  God  rests 
complacently  on  him.  And  what  a  benefit  does  he  derive  1  His 
soul  shines  with  a  divine  light ;  and  he  offers  to  heaven  a  more 
admirable  spectacle  than  the  whole  universe  with  all  its  magnifi- 
cence. Let  us  then  carefully  preserve  this  divine  image  in  our 
souls.  It  is  the  most  precious  of  goods— a  good  which  transports 
us  from  earth  to  heaven — which  will  enable  us  to  see  God  in 
his  glory,  and  will  inundate  our  soul  with  torrents  of  delight. 
Why  did  the  holy  hermits  fly  to  the  deserts  ?  Why  did  they 
bury  themselves  alive  in  subterranean  caves?  Why  did  they 
water  the  earth  with  their  tears,  and  make  the  air  re-echo  their 
sighs  and  groans  ?  It  was  because  they  knew  what  a  treasure 
they  earned  in  frail  vessels.  They  feared  to  lose  that  pearl  which 
constituted  all  their  wealth.  Loss  of  fortune  should  matter  little, 
persecutions  to  be  endured,  or  privations  borne ;  if  we  preserve 
this  treasure  of  grace,  which  renders  us  like  to  God,  all  is  saved. 
Losing  this  we  are  poor  indeed,  but  we  are  rich  if  losing  all  else 
we  preserve  this  treasure.  Were  our  body  invested  with  all  the 
splendor  of  beauty,  if  we  do  not  bear  within  us  the  image  of 
God,  sanctifying  grace,  we  are  an  object  of  horror  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Almighty,  and  of  his  angols  and  saints. 


OOKSEQUBNOES  OF  OBIOIN Air  Snr. 


98 


Let  us  never  efface  in  us  this  divine  resemblance.  Without  it 
our  soul  would  be  like  a  canvas  from  which  a  fine  painting  has 
been  obliterated,  or  rather  it  would  become  a  kind  of  corpse ;  for 
as  the  soul  imparts  life  to  the  body,  so  the  divine  likeness  gives 
supernatural  life  to  the  soul.  After  the  commission  of  sin  man 
is  only  a  kind  of  phantom,  which  would  horrify  all  around  it,  if 
its  interior  hideousness  could  meet  our  eyes.  When,  like  Adam, 
he  comes  to  lose  what  constitutes  the  beauty  of  the  soul,  a  feeling 
of  disquiet  and  a  arm  seizes  upon  him;  like  him,  he,  too,  would 
hide  himself  from  before  the  face  of  God,  but  in  vain.  The  voice 
of  God,  the  voice  of  conscience,  is  heard  in  the  soul,  and  unceas- 
ingly torments  the  unhappy  sinner.  No  fault  can  escape  this 
witness,  this  conscience,  which  is  ever  and  always  with  us. 

The  sin  of  our  first  parents  has  had  a  sad  effect  on  nature ;  it 
has  made  the  earth  a  valley  of  tears.  Even  now  sin  acts  in  a 
like  manner  on  all  that  surrounds  u^;,  and  turns  to  bitterness  all 
previous  joy.  No,  it  is  only  the  innocent  heart  that  is  capable  of 
experiencing  real  joy ;  the  noisy  diversions  of  the  children  of  the 
world  never  satisfy  the  soul,  and  serve  only  as  a  means  to  stun 
it.  Just  as  bells  have  a  plaintive  sound  to  one  disposed  to  sad* 
ness,  so  nature  serves  only  to  excite  gloomy  images  in  a  soul  pen- 
etrated by  the  poison  of  sin.  If  we  would  abide  in  the  paradise 
of  joy  and  content,  we  mubt  beware  of  extending  our  hand  to 
the  forbidden  fruit  of  sin,  attractive  as  it  may  appear.  Travelers 
relate  that  there  grows  on  the  >)ar.ks  of  the  Dead  Sea,  that  watery 
grave  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  a  plant  bearing  a  fruit  superb  in 
color  and  in  its  inviting  appearance.  The  pilgrim,  parched  by 
journeying  over  the  desert,  sees  this  apple  of  Sodom,  which  seems 
to  promise  him  a  delightful  and  refreshing  relief;  he  hastens  to 
gather  it,  but  scarcely  does  he  touch  it,  when  it  falls  to  dust. 
Happy,  indeed,  if  he  has  not  raised  it  to  his  mouth,  for  its  bitter- 
ness would  destroy  his  palate.  This  is  an  image  of  sin :  a  fruit 
attractive  without,  but  with  naught  within  but  dust  and  bit- 
terness. '  ' 


u 


•HI4T  AVTTOm  or  TBI  OMSOIIO  VAIVB. 


iv^9 


S^. 


Rbdemption — God's  Dssion  m  thb  REDSMpnoir  of  Mankind 
— Man  could  not  Redeem  Himself — Pbomisb  of  a  Re. 

DEBMER — PbBPABATION  FOB  REDEMPTION — ThE  GoMINO  OF  A 
RSDEBMBB — ^ThB  Wo^K  OF  THE  ReDEBMBB. 

'^Salvation  I  What  music  is  there  in  that  word — mnsio  that 
never  tires,  but  is  always  new — that  always  rouses,  yet  always 
rests  us  t  It  holds  in  itself  all  that  our  hearts  would  say.  It  is 
sweet  vigoi'  to  us  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  evening  it  is  con- 
tented peace.  It  is  a  song  that  is  always  singing  itself  deep 
down  in  the  delighted  soul.  Angels'  ears  are  ravished  by  it  up 
in  heaven;  and  our  Eternal  Father  himself  listens  to  it  with 
adorable  complacency.  It  is  sweet  even  to  him  out  of  whose 
mind  is  the  m\isic  of  a  thousand  worlds.  To  be  saved  I  What 
is  to  be  saved  ?  Who  can  tell  ?  Eye  has  not  seen  nor  ear  heard. 
It  is  a  rescue,  and  from  such  a  shipwreck.  It  is  a  rest,  and  in 
such  an  unimaginable  home.  It  is  to  be  down  forever  in  the 
bosom  of  God  in  an  endless  rapture  of  insatiable  contentment. 
*  Thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from 
their  sins.'  Who  else  but  Jesus  can  do  this,  and  what  else,  even 
from  him,  do  we  require  but  this  ?  for  in  this  lie  all  things  which 
we  can  desire.  Of  all  miseries  the  bondage  of  sin  is  the  most 
miserable.  It  is  worse  than  sorrow,  worse  than  pain.  It  is  such 
a  ruin  that  no  other  ruin  is  like  unto  it.  It  troubles  all  the  peace 
of  life.  It  turns  sunshine  into  darkness.  It  embitters  all  pleas- 
ant fountains,  and  poisons  the  very  blessings  of  God,  which 
should  have  been  for  our  healing.  It  doubles  the  burdens  of 
life,  which  are  heavy  enough  already.  It  makes  death  a  terror 
and  a  torture,  and  the  eternity  beyond  the  grave  an  infinite  and 
intolerable  blackness.  Alas !  we  have  felt  the  weightiness  of  sin, 
and  know  that  there  is  nothing  like  it.  Life  had  brought  many 
sorrows  to  us  and  many  fears.  Our  hearts  have  ached  a  thou- 
sand times.  Tears  have  flowed,  sleep  has  fled.  Food  has  been 
nauseous  to  us,  even  when  our  weakness  craved  for  it.  But  never 
have  we  felt  anything  like  the  dead  weight  of  a  mortal  sin. 
What  then  must  a  life  of  such  sins  be  ?  What  must  be  a  death 
in  sin  ?    What  the  irrevocable  eternity  of  unrepented  sin  ? 


UDEXPTIOir.  10 

*'  From  all  this  horror  whither  nhall  we  look  for  deliverance  ? 
Not  to  ourselves ;  for  we  know  the  practical  infinity  of  our  weak- 
ness, and  the  incorrigible  vitality  of  our  corruption.  Not  to  any 
earthly  power,  for  it  has  no  jurisdiction  here.  Not  to  philosophy, 
literature,  or  science;  for  in  this  case  they  are  but  sorry  and 
unhelpful  matters.  Not  to  any  saint,  however  holy,  nor  to  any 
angel,  however  mighty ;  for  the  least  sin  is  a  bigger  mountain 
than  they  have  faculties  to  move.  Not  to  the  crowned  queen  of 
God's  creatures,  the  glorious  and  the  sinless  Mary ;  for  even  her 
holiness  cannot  satisfy  for  sin,  nor  the  whiteness  of  her  purity 
take  out  its  deadly  stain.  Neither  may  we  look  for  deliverance 
direct  from  the  patience  and  compassion  of  God  himself ;  for  in 
the  abysses  of  his  wisdom  it  has  been  decreed,  that  without  shed- 
ding of  blood  there  shall  be  no  remission  of  sin.  It  is  from  the 
precious  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  alone,  that  our  salvation  comes. 
Out  of  the  immensity  of  his  merits,  out  of  the  inexhaustible 
treasures  of  its  satisfactions,  because  of  the  resistless  power  over 
the  justice  and  the  wrath  of  God,  because  of  that  dear  combina- 
tion of  its  priceless  wortL  and  its  benignant  prodigality,  we 
miserable  sinners  are  raised  out  of  the  depths  of  our  wretched- 
ness and  restored  to  the  peace  and  favor  of  our  Heavenly  Father. 

"  Is  hope  sweet  where  despair  had  almost  begun  to  reign  ?  Is 
it  a  joy  to  be  emancipated  fi'om  a  shameful  slavery,  or  set  free 
from  a  noxious  dungeon  ?  Is  it  gladness  to  be  raised  as  if  by 
miracle  from  a  bed  of  feebleness  and  suffering  to  sudden  health 
and  instantaneous  vigor  ?  Then  what  a  gladness  must  salvation 
be  1  For  as  there  is  no  earthly  misery  like  sin,  so  is  there  no  de- 
liverance like  that  with  which  Jesus  makes  us  free."  * 

It  is  only  to  the  mercy  of  God  that  man  owes  his  ransom ;  of 
himself  he  could  neither  recover  sanctifying  grace,  nor  satisfy  the 
divine  justice. 

Man  could  not  of  himself  recover  sanctifying  grace,  or  return 
to  fd^or  with  God.  With  the  loss  of  sanctifying  grace  he  had 
incurred  spiritual  death,  the  death  of  the  soul.  Now,  as  he  could 
not  raise  him  to  enjoy  anew  the  life  of  the  body,  still  less  could 


>  Paber. 


OIBAT  AWIOUBB  OV  TBX  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


he  restore  lost  life  to  the  soul,  because  the  very  act  that  would 
effect  the  restoration  presupposes  life.  The  soul  preserved  iu- 
deed  its  natural  faculties;  but  these  could  not  enable  it  to  acquire 
a  supernatural  life,  with  which  they  bear  no  proportion.  Huw 
then  could  man  give  himself  a  destiny  which  depended  on  God's 
free  will  I  Hpw  could  he  obtain  means  to  reach  that  destiny, 
when  these  means  could  be  only  a  pure  gift  of  Qod )  How  could 
he  merit  what  was  infinitely  superior  to  his  actions  I  For  natural 
actions  can  establish  a  right  only  to  a  purely  natural  reward. 
The  union  which  had  existed  between  man  and  God  was  of  a 
celestial  nature;  no  human  power  could  realize  such  a  one. 

Fallen  man  could  not  satisfy  the  justice  of  God  for  the  o£fence 
which  he  had  committed.  A  complete  satisfaction  must  be  equal 
to  the  offence.  Now  whether,  with  St.  Thomas,  we  consider  sin 
as  an  infinite  offepce,  because  it  is  against  an  infinitely  perfect 
God,  or  with  Suarez  consider  it  as  superior  to  every  possible  in- 
jury, it  follows  evidently  that  a  limited  being  cannot  satisfy  an 
infinite  God,  for  if,  on  the  one  hand,  the  offence  increases  in  pro- 
portion to  the  dignity  of  the  offended  one,  and  the  lowness  of 
the  offender,  on  the  other  hand  the  satisfaction  diminishes  in 
proportion  to  the  inferiority  of  him  who  offers  the  offence,  and 
the  greatness  of  him  to  whom  it  is  offered.  Moreover,  to  entitle 
anything  to  be  offered  in  satisfaction  to  an  offended  person,  it  is 
important  and  necessary  that  this  be  not  already  due  him  from 
some  other  quarter.  Now,  the  creature  possesses  nothing  but 
what  belongs  to  God.  God  has  a  right  to  all  men's  actions,  be- 
cause man  is  God's  property ;  all  the  fruit  of  a  tree  belongs  to 
the  owner  of  the  tree. 

God  might  have  dan^ned  Adam  irrevocably  after  his  sin ;  he 
might  have  reduced  the  human  race  to  the  state  of  nature,  so 
that  men  would  either  have  been  damned  for  their  personal 
faults  or  merited  by  their  fidelity  a  natural  happiness,  like  that 
enjoyed  by  such  as  die  without  having  received  baptism,  and 
without  having  committed  mortal  sin.  But  in  that  case  he  would 
have  manifested  only  his  justice.  He  might  have  remitted  man's 
fault  without  exacting  satisfaction,  or  been  satisfied  with  an  in- 
complete satisfaction,  such  as  a  limited  being  could  offer,  but 


REDBHPTIOH. 


97 


then  he  would  have  manifested  his  mercy  rather  than  his  justice. 
In  fine,  he  might  exact  a  complete  satisfaction,  and  in  that  aim 
send  a  Redeemer,  who  would  offer  it  to  him  in  the  name  of  the 
human  race.  Now  this  is  what  he  had  resolved  upon  from  all 
eternity,  so  that  the  Psalitaist could  say;  "Mercy  and  truth  have 
met  together ;  justice  and  peace  have  kissed."  * 

God  promised  man  a  Redeemer,  who  was  fully  to  satisfy  for 
sin,  and  reconquer  for  the  human  race  grace  and  the  right  to 
heaven.  This  promise  is  found  in  the  words  which  God  ad- 
dressed to  the  seducer,  when  announcing  his  punishment:  "Be- 
cause thou  hast  done  this  thing  thou  art  cursed  among  all  living 
things  and  beasts  of  the  earth I  will  put  enmities  be- 
tween thee  and  the  woman,  and  thy  seed  and  her  seed ;  she  shall 
crush  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  lie  in  wait  for  her  heel." '  These 
words  announce  the  victory  that  a  descendant  of  the  woman  was 
one  day  to  gain  over  the  seducer.  It  is  evident  that  this  punish- 
ment is  announced  to  Satan  rather  than  to  a  serpent,  which  had 
been  his  instrument.  The  seducer  Satan  was  to  be  punished  by 
the  overthrow  of  the  power  which  sin  had  given  him  over  man. 

The  apostle  St.  Paul  implies  this  promise  of  a  Redeemer,  made 
by  God,  when  he  compares  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  source  of  justice 
and  author  of  life,  to  Adam,  author  of  sin  and  cause  of  dam- 
nation.' 

With  this  promise  and  by  virtue  of  that  redemption,  friendly 
relations  were  restored  between  God  and  man.  Cain  and  Abel 
are  seen  fulfilling  the  most  important  act  of  religion  by  offering 
sacrifices  to  God.  Now  religion  implies  not  only  sentiments  of 
piety,  but  also  the  possibility  of  pleasing  God. 

God  often  renewed  the  promise  of  a  Redeemer,  especially  to 
the  patriarchs.  When  he  commanded  Abraham  to  leave  his 
country,  he  told  him:  "In  thee  shall  all  the  kindreds  of  the 
earth  be  blessed."  *  He  repeated  this  still  more  clearly  when  he 
beheld  him  ready  to  sacrifice  his  son  Isaac :  "  In  thy  seed  shall 
all  the  nations  of.  the  earth  be  blessed."*    Isaac  and  Jacob  re- 


«P8.1xxxiv.  11. 
*  Gen.  zii.  8. 


•Oen.iii.U,  IB. 


*  See  Rom.  v.  18,  21. 
*Gen.  xzii.  18. 


08 


QBEAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


ceived  the  same  promise.  The  Messias  was  thus  announced  as 
man,  of  the  seed  of  Eve  and  of  the  race  of  Abraham.  The  holy  pa- 
triarch, Job,  knew  also  his  divine  nature :  "  I  know  that  my  Re- 
deemer liveth." '  All  the  nations  of  the  earth  were  to  acquire 
happiness  through  the  seed  of  Abrahaiii.  This  did  not  mean  tem- 
poral happiness,  for  many  nations  were  conquered  and  extermi- 
nated by  the  Israelites ;  nor  can  we  conceive  any  great  temporal 
happiness  that  a  little  nation  like  the  Jews  oould  confer  on  all 
mankind.  It  could  not  mean  the  temporal  happiness  of  Abra- 
ham's descendants,  for  they  have  been  afflicted  with  the  greatest 
evils  that  can  befall  a  nation.  It  could  be  only  a  superior,  a 
spiritual  happiness,  which  was  to  be  given  to  the  earth  through 
the  seed  of  the  patriarchs ;  the  Redeemer  was  to  s>pring  from  their 
race.  So  the  Israelites  understDod  it,  and  so  St.  Paul  explains  it. 
"The  Scripture  foreseeing  that  God  justifieth  the  Gentiles  by 
faith,  told  unto  Abraham  before:  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be 
blessed."*    .;■;■■■-:;-,•  ■"■'•.  "    "'^  r--,   --'..■",;."-■:•  :-^"^'' 

God  seems  to  have  made  it  the  sole  destiny  of  the  people  of 
Israel  to  prepare  the  coming  of  the  Redeemer,  who  is  represented 
as  the  Expectation  of  the  Nations;  the  Star  of  Jacob ;  the  Prophet 
who  was  to  be  sent  by  God ;  the  Just  One  whom  the  earth  was 
to  bud  forth,  and  who  was  to  descend  fi'om  heaven  like  dew ;  the 
Prince,  who  shall  govorn  the  people  of  Israel ;  the  Angel  of  the 
Covenant.  This  great  restorer  of  the  human  race  is  the  aim  and 
center  of  all  the  old  law ;  from  him  the  worship  and  political 
,  organization  of  the  people  of  Israel  derive  their  signification  and 
their  meaning;  without  him  the  history  of  that  people  would  be 
simply  an  enigma,  a  tissue  of  impossibilities  and  contradictions. 
Sion  is  dear  to  the  Israelites  only  because  the  Messias  was  from 
it  to  extend  his  reign  over  the  whole  earth ;  and  for  this  reason 
during  the  captivity  they  confidently  turned  their  gaze  toward 
Sion.  When  they  had  lost  every  other  hope,  seen  the  walls  of 
their  city  razed,  their  temple  even  devoured  by  the  flames,  they 
retained  unshaken  in  the  depths  of  their  heart  their  hope  in  hiui 
who  was  to  "rule  from  sea  to  sea."'  • 


•  Job  T. 


'  Qal.  iii.  8. 


•Pa,  Ixxi,  8. 


BXDBMPTIOir. 


99 


God  permitted  the  promised  Redeemer  to  be  expected  for  four 
thousand  years,  because  he  wished  man  to  feel  the  depths  of 
misery  into  which  he  had  been  plunged  by  sin,  and  his  need  of  a 
Redeemer.  The  human  race  was  like  a  man  struck  down  by  dis- 
ease. As  the  cure  of  this  patient  did  not  depend  on  heaven  alone, 
but  also  on  man's  free  will,  it  was  necessary  that  man  should  first 
be  fully  conscious  of  his  disease,  and  of  his  wretched  state.  This 
object  was  attained  by  the  laws  which  showed  him  his  duty,  but 
conferred  no  grace  to  aid  him  to  accomplish  it,  so  that  bearing 
heavily  on  nan  it  made  him  feel  his  weakness  and  long  for  the 
heavenly  physician.  The  law  then,  whether  the  natural  or  the 
Mosaic,  was  a  necessary  remedy  which  was  to  prepare  and  make 
possible  a  further  and  complete  cure. 

The  whole  human  race  was  to  be  rescued  from  its  misery  and 
to  partak*^^  of  supernatural  blessings.  But  experience  was  neces- 
sary to  prove  to  man  the  uselessness  of  all  efforts  that  he  could 
make  toward  this  end,  and  thus  to  fit  him  for  gifts  of  a  superior 
order.  The  powerful  empires  of  Asia  were  first  to  bring  their 
evidence  that  the  most  brilliant  prosperity  could  not  content  the 
heart  of  man.  Greek  philosophy  was  to  serve  by  its  vagaries  to 
show  the  impotence  of  the  human  mind ;  and  the  virtue  of  the 
Romans  was  to  be  shipwrecked  amid  the  monstrous  vices  which 
caused  the  downfall  of  their  empire. 

The  human  race,  moreover,  needed  to  be  formed,  to  be  edu- 
cated. Before  being  impressed  with  the  lessons  of  the  highest 
wisdom,  it  had  to  be  treated  as  a  child,  subjected  to  the  discipline 
of  the  law,  withheld  or  diverted  from  evil  by  temporal  chastise- 
ments, and  led  on  to  good  by  the  allurement  of  rewards  of  that 
same  nature,  so  as  to  bring  it  at  last  to  act  from  purer  and  higher 
motives.  It  was  necessary  to  take  it  by  externals,  to  bring  it  to 
the  understanding  of  interior  aud  spiritual  facts,  to  raise  it  from 
the  less  perfect  to  the  more  perfect,  and  to  employ  types  and 
symbols  in  order  to  make  it  afterward  perceive  the  truth  itself. 
It  was  so  weak,  that  had  it  received  complete  happiness  without 
previous  preparation,  it  could  not  have  supported  it. 

Finally,  God,  who  loves  to  infuse  unity  into  his  works,  wished 
to  follow  in  the  direction  and  government  of  humanity  the  same 


■Jim 


r 


100. 


«ta£AT  ABTI0L1S3  OF  THE  OATHOlio  TAITH. 


course  as  in  the  justification  of  each  individual  man.  As  he  first 
enlightens  the  guilty,  then  awakens  in  him  fear  and  hope,  and 
gradually  prepares  him  for  love,  in  order  at  last  to  grant  him 
sanctifying  grace,  so  he  begins  by  scattering  the  shades  in  which 
sin  had  plunged  humanity,  inspired  it  with  fear  of  his  chastise- 
ments, then,  with  hope  of  recompense,  brought  it  by  gratitude  to 
love,  and  finally  sent  it  his  Son,  the  Salvation  of  the  World. 

We  cannot  but  admire  the  immense  mercy  of  God,  who  vouch- 
safed to  receive  guilty  man  again,  instead  of  leaving  him  a  prey 
to  the  double  death  he  had  deserved.  Adam's  sin  was  to  be  ex- 
piated in  the  mo3t  perfect  and  profitable  manner  for  us.  Redemp- 
tion was  to  produce  such  abundance  of  grace  that  the  Church 
can  exclaim  in  the  office  for  Holy  Saturday:  "O  truly  neces- 
sary sin,  O  happy  fault,  which  has  obtained  for  us  such  a  Re- 
deemer." It  is  true  that  God  showed  mercy  to  our  first  father ; 
but  who  assures  us  that  it  would  have  been  so  had  one  of  our 
later  ancestors  committed  the  first  sin,  or  we  ourselves  ?  Instead, 
then,  of  condemning  our  parents  for  their  fault,  let  us  rather  bless 
and  thank  the  God  of  all  mercies. 


Preparation  fob  Redemption, 

To  prepare  men  for  the  coming  of  the  promised  Redeemer,  God 
revealed  himself  to  them  at  different  times,  as  he  had  done  to 
Adam  before  his  fall.  He  thus  taught  them  the  truths  which 
they  needed  to  know  as  to  his  nature,  on  their  own,  on  the  end 
which  he  had  given  them,  and  on  the  mf  ans  of  attaining  it ;  and 
he  fixed  the  worship  that  they  were  to  render  him  in  order  to  be 
saved.  In  the  course  of  time  he  chose  a  peojde  commissioned  to 
guard  the  deposit  of  revealed  truths,  and  gave  it  institutions 
adapted  to  this  end.  In  adapting  these  revelations  and  institu- 
tions to  the  necessities  and  understanding  of  the  Jewish  peoj)lb', 
he  led  them  on  progressively  till  humanity  had  reached  a  relig- 
ious development  sufficient  to  recognize  the  promised  Messias  and 
embrace  his  law. 

Revelation  anterior  to,  and  preparatory  to.  Redemption  com- 
prehends the  primitive  revelation,  the  patriarchal,  and  Mosaic 
or  Jewish  revelation,     :    ^  '''■  - 


PBIMITIVE  BEV£LATIOir. 


101 


Primitivb  Revelatioit 

embraces  all  the  truth  i  and  institutions  by  means  of  which 
God  instructed  and  guided  the  human  race,  Irom  its  origin  till 
its  dispersion  over  the  whole  earth.  It  includes  natural  and 
supernatural  truths  as  to  God  as  the  Creator  and  Sovereign 
Lord ;  as  to  man  and  his  destiny ;  as  to  the  existence  of  good  and 
evil  angels;  as  to  the  government  of  the  world  by  Providence, 

The  idea  of  one  sole  God,  Creator  of  the  world,  contained  in 
the  primitive  revelation,  has  been  preserved  more  or  less  dis- 
tinctly among  all  nations.  "  This  idea  must  have  been  engraved 
on  all  minds  by  the  Creator  himself,  or  it  must  be  the  relic  of  a 
tradition  dating  back  to  the  origin  of  the  human  race,  since  it  is 
found  in  all  ages  as  well  as  in  all  countries  of  the  world.''*  We 
find  it  indeed  in  all  nations  that  had  fallen  into  idolatry.  For 
St.  Paul  declares  the  Gentiles  inexcusable  because  they  knew  the 
true  God,  but  did  not  glorify  him.* 

The  belief  in  another  life,  or  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  is 
as  universal  as  the  notion  of  the  divinity,  and  as  ancient  as  re- 
ligion. We  find  it  not  only  among  the  Hebrews,  but  among 
the  most  barbarous  nations ;  among  the  Scythians,  the  Hindoos, 
the  Gauls,  Germans,  as  well  as  among  the  Greeks  and  Bomans, 
and  among  the  most  savage  tribes  discovered  in  the  New  World. 
It  dates  back,  therefore,  to  the  cradle  of  the  human  race.  The 
patriarchs  were  not  philosophers ;  as  they  knew  the  dogma  of 
a  future  life,  God  must  have  revealed  it  to  them. 

The  existence  of  good  and  bad  angels  is  another  dogma  of 
primitive  revelation.  The  distinction  of  good  and  evil  genii, 
mentioned  in  the  history  of  the  various  idolatrous  worships,  is 
based  on  that  of  the  good  and  wicked  angels  spoken  of  in  Holy 
Writ :  "  When  I  see,"  says  Bossuet,  "  in  the  Prophets  and  the 
Apocalypse,  and  in  the  Gospel  itself,  the  angel  of  the  Persians, 
the  angel  of  the  Jews,  the  angel  of  the  little  children,  who  takes 
up  their  cause  before  God  against  those  who  scandalize  them, 
the  angel  of   the  waters,  the  angel  of  fire,  and  so  on;  and 


'  Bergier,  Theological  Dictionary,  verba,  God. 


*  Bam.  i.  20,  21. 


102 


GREAT  ARTICLES  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


when  I  see  among  all  these  angels  him  who  places  on  the  altar 
the  heavenly  incense  of  prayer,  I  recognize  iu  these  words  a  kind 
of  mediation  of  the  holy  angels.  I  even  see  the  foundation 
which  has  given  the  pagans  the  idea  of  assigning  divinities  to 
the  elements  and  kingdom  in  order  to  preside  over  them,  for 
every  error  is  founded  on  some  perverted  truth ''• 

The  existence  of  a  Providence  ruling  '>ver  the  world  is  a 
dogma  which  is  found  among  all  nations,  a  constant  and  uni- 
versal dogma,  which  goes  back  to  the  first  ages,  and  consequently 
forms  part  of  the  primitive  revelation.  In  all  times  and  places 
this  dogma  blends  with  that  of  the  existence  of  a  religion ;  the 
worship  rendered  to  the  divinity,  the  most  ancient  religious 
practices  show  that  all  nations  have  believed  in  the  existence  of 
a  Providence  governing  the  world  and  disposing  all  for  the  hap- 
piness of  mankind.  ,  „  -: 

2.  The  promise  of  a  Redeemer,  expressed  in  the  words  ad- 
dressed to  Satan :  "  I  will  put  enmities  between  thee  and  the 
woman,  and  thy  seed  and  her  seed ;  she  shall  crush  thy  head." 
The  promise  of  a  Redeemer  supposes  the  fall  or  degradation  of 
man.  Now  the  fall  of  the  human  race,  or  original  sin,  is  a  dognni 
of  the  primitive  revelation.  It  was  the  belief  of  the  patriarchs, 
a  belief  that  has  been  transmitted  to  all  nations,  more  or  less 
altered,  it  is  true.  We  find  the  proof  of  this  in  what  the  poets 
call  the  silver,  bronze,  and  iron  ages  succeeding  the  golden  age, 
ifts  well  as  in  the  expiatory  rites  in  use  among  all  nations  to 
purify  a  child  on  its  entrance  into  life.  Thus  among  the  Romans 
new-born  children  were  purified  with  lustral  water,  boys  on  tlic 
ninth  day,  girls  on  the  eighth.  The  Egyptians,  Persians,  and 
Greeks  had  a  similar  custom.  In  the  Canary  Islands,  Yuca- 
tan, and  Mexico,  water  was  poured  on  the  child's  head.  Among 
some  nations  the  child  was  passed  through  a  flame,  to  purify  it 
both  by  fire  and  water.  In  India  a  B^-ahman  dips  a  new-born 
child  thrice  into  the  water. 

The  expectation  of  a  Redeemer  existed  among  all  ancient 
nations,  and  necessarily  goes  back  to  the  time  when  the  nations 

I  Pre&ce  to  the  Apocalypse.      '  *' 


I  V-  -lif' 


PATRIABOHAL  BBVELATION. 


108 


formed  but  a  single  family.  It  was  held  not  only  by  the 
Hebr  ws,  but  also  by  the  Greeks  and  Bomans,  the  Egyptians, 
Chinese,  Japanese,  and  American  Indians.  One  who  wrotd 
against  the  truth  of  religion  had  to  admit  that  from  time  imme* 
morial  it  was  a  maxim  among  the  Hindoos  and  Chinese  that  the 
Wise  One  was  to  come  from  the  West.  In  Europe,  on  the  con- 
trary, it  was  said  that  he  was  to  come  from  the  East,  Judea. 
Whence  the  Redeemer  was  to  come  was  thus  fixed  by  an  un* 
wavering  tradition. 

3.  The  institution  of  sacrifice,  which  was  oflfered  by  the  sons  of 
Adam,  and  the  object  of  which  was  not  only  that  man  should  ex- 
press his  dependence  on  God,  but  also  to  prefigure  the  great  sacrifice 
of  the  Redeemer,  the  only  one  efficacious  in  itself.  We  find  the 
use  of  sacrifice  in  all  nations  from  the  highest  antiquity,  and  the 
universality  indicates  sufi&ciently  that  it  was  instituted  by  God 

himself. 

Patriaeohal  Revelation. 

When  men,  led  away  by  corruption,  abandoned  the  primitive 
truths  and  worship,  God,  with  the  design  of  preserving  the  true 
religion,  chose  Abraham,  a  descendant  of  Sem,  confirmed  him  in 
the  faith,  and  made  him  the  father  of  a  faithful  and  believing 
people. 

The  patriarchal  revelation  embraced  the  truths  revealed  by 
God  after  the  dispersion  of  the  human  race,  and,  down  to  Moses, 
and  especially  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  It  included,  1. 
More  explicit  notions  of  the  unity,  power,  providence.  Justice, 
and  omnipresence  of  God.  2.  A  renewal  of  the  promise  of  a 
Redeemer,  who  is  announced  to  Abraham  as  to  come  from  his 
race,  in  virtue  of  these  words  of  the  Almighty :  "  In  thy  seed  shall 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed,"*  words  which  can  apply 
only  to  the  Messias.  This  same  Messias  was  to  descend  from 
Juda,  according  to  this  prophecy  of  Jacob :  "  The  sceptre  shall 
not  be  taken  away  from  Juda,  nor  a  ruler  from  his  thigh,  till  he 
come  that  is  to  be  sent,  and  he  shall  be  the  expectation  of  na- 
tions."* 3.  The  figure  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Redeemer  in  those 
of  Isaac  and  Melchisedec. 


'  Qen.  xxii.  18 ;  xx\\.  4. 


*Gen.  xlix.  10, 


104 


OBEAT  ARTICLES  OF  'i'HB  CATUOLIO  JAITH. 


Mosaic  03  Jewish  Bevelation. 

*  The  Mosaic  or  JewisL  revelation  embraces  the  truths  revealed 
to  the  people  of  God  by  the  ministry  of  Moseii^  and  the  prophets 
namely,  a  more  complete  knowledge  of  God  and  morality,  the 
religious  and  social  institutions  given  to  the  Jewish  natioi),  and 
the  development  of  the  promise  of  a  Redeemer.  1.  God  reveals 
himself  as  the  only  God  and  as  Providence,  by  tUi  declaiiitions 
which  he  makes,  as  well  as  by  his  action  in  regard  to  his  people 
especially  by  the  miruoles  which  he  works  to  deliver  them  from 
the  bondage  of  Egypt,  m  order  to  plant  them  in  the  Promised 
Land,  and  finally  make  them  tri  impb  over  th«?ir  enemies  when 
they  are  faithful,  or  to  cbastise  and  hrmg  them  back  when  they 
art  guilty.  2.  God  traceti  out  for  mtii.  the  way  he  is  to  follow 
in  order  to  obtain  eternal  happiness,  l;y  giving  him  the  Ten  Com- 
mand in  entct,  which  at  various  times  he  sums  up  in  the  twofold 
precept  of  love  or  charity.  3.  Independent  of  the  Decalogue, 
which  includes  the  moral  law,  God  gives  his  peophj,  through 
Moses,  religious  and  social  institutions;  he  appoints  the  exterior 
worship  which  the  Hebrew  people  are  to  render  him ;  he  insti- 
tutes the  sacrifices  to  be  offered,  and  at  the  same  time  a  priest- 
hood in  the  family  of  Aaron  ;  he  regulates  the  ceremonies  of  the 
worship,  with  the  view  of  ]  lefiguring  the  Messias;  he  gives  his 
people  a  social  organization,  v/hich  will  bv  modified  in  time  )>y 
the  intervention  of  his  messengers  or  prophets.  . 

4.  He  frequently  renews  the  promise  of  a  Redeemer;  Moses 
announces  the  coming  of  a  new  Lawgiver,  to  whose  voice  all  the 
nations  shall  submit,  and  who  consequently  can  be  no  other  than 
the  Messias ;  the  prophets  determine  with  clearer  and  clearer'de- 
scriptions  the  character  of  the  Messias,  his  origin,  the  place,  tiiuo, 
and  circumstances  of  his  birth,  and  the  nature  of  his  mission,  so 
that  when  he  appears  on  the  earth  men  may  recognize  him  as 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  the  One  sent  by  the  Lord,  the  Redeemer 

of  Men.       ;.-..w-^^:!--'-;^  -  -^"-    ■■'    —  ■   .  -■■--;.-  r--:-;^,:;,y  :,  / 


The  truths  contained  in  the  revelations  anterior  to  redemption 
are  contained  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament.    These  are  di- 


MOSAIC  OB  JEWISH  BEVELATIOIT. 


100 


vided  into  three  classes :  historical,  moral,  and  prophetical  books. 
The  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are,  the  Pentateuch 
or  Fiv!)  Bcoks  of  Moses,  so  called  because  they  were  written  by 
!!-kto8eHj  exoev/t  the  last  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  which  is  attrib- 
\jlcd  If  Es(ir}  j.  It  contains  Genesis,  giving  the  history  of  the 
creation  ot'  ttie  world  and  man,  of  original  sin,  and  of  the  patri^ 
archs  to  the  death  of  Joseph.  Exodus  relates  the  oppression  of 
the  Hebrew  in  Egypt,  and  their  departure  from  that  country. 
Leviticus  is  a  code  of  civil  and  religious  laws,  the  execution  of 
wb5<  h  was  especially  committed  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.  Numbers 
gives  the  census  of  the  tribes,  and  theTiistory  of  their  wandering 
in  the  desert.  Deuteronomy  repeats  the  decalogue  with  several 
positive  laws,  and  narrates  the  death  of  Moses.  The  Pentateuch 
embraces  a  period  of  2,500  years. 

The  Book  of  Josue  gives  the  history  of  the  conquest  and  di- 
vision of  the  land  of  Chanaan,  setting  forth  on  one  side  in  all  its 
lustre  God's  fidelity  to  his  promises  in  favor  of  the  Israelites, 
and  on  the  other  the  justice  of  his  chastisement  of  the  Chanaan 
ites.  This  book  was  most  probably  written  by  Josue,  whe  led 
the  people  into  the  Promised  Land,  or  from  his  words. 

The  Book  of  Judges  gives  the  history  of  the  people  of  God 
under  the  rulers  called  Judges.  It  shows  the  temporal  blessings 
with  which  God  rewarded  the  fidelity  of  his  people,  and  the 
chastisements  with  which  he  punished  their  prevarication.  This 
book  is  ascribed  to  Samuel,  and  at  all  events  was  written  before* 
David  expelled  the  Jebusites. 

Ruth  shows  us  the  ancestors  of  David  and  of  the  Mesoias :  it 
displays  the  goodness  of  Providence  in  making  the  famine  sent 
to1)unish  the  guilty  Israelites  turn  to  the  advantage  of  a  poor 
heathen  woman.     Samuel  is  believed  to  have  been  the  author. 

The  four  Books  of  Kings  contain  the  history  of  the  people  of 
God  from  the  anointing  of  Saul  to  the  Babylonian  captivity,  a 
period  of  more  than  five  hundred  years,  and  they  too  show  the 
conduct  of  God  in  regard  to  the  Israelites.  The  authors  of  these 
books  are  not  known  positively.  Some  commentators  ascribe 
the  first  and  second  to  the  prophets  Samuel,  Gad,  and  Nathan, 
and  the  third  and  fourth  to  Esdras  or  Jeremias. 


106 


OBIAT  ABTZOLES  OF  THE  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


The  two  Books  of  Paralipomenon,  or  Chronicles,  are  a  supple- 
ment to  the  Books  of  the  Kings.  The  first  gives  David^s  gen- 
ealogy from  Adam,  and  his  reign ;  the  second  the  history  from 
Solomon's  accession  to  the  captivity.  Some  interpreters  suppose 
Esdras  to  be  the  author. 

The  first  Book  of  Esdras  relates  the  return  to  Jerusalem  from 
the  captivity;  the  obstacles  raised  to  the  building  of  the  temple; 
the  restoration  of  the  Mosaic  worship,  and  the  suppression  of 
abuses.  In  the  second  Book  of  Esdras,  or  Nehemias,  the  author 
speaks  of  the  sad  state  of  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  after  their  re- 
turn from  captivity.  It  relates  his  journey  from  Susa  to  the  holy 
city,  the  rebuilding  of  th^  walls,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Mo 
saic  law  in  all  its  purity.      >  -v  /^     .    >  -; 

Tobias,  Judith,  and  Esther  relate  the  history  of  special  events. 
The  first  shows,  in  the  person  of  Tobias  and  his  son,  the  reward 
of  virtue  practiced  in  the  sight  of  God,  especially  of  the  works 
of  mercy  and  patience  in  trial.  Judith  gives  the  deliverance  of 
Bethulia  by  that  holy  widow,  an  event  which  took  place  prob- 
ably'in  the  reign  of  Mauasses,  before  -^  captivity.  The  third 
book  shows  the  danger  with  which  th'.  ^  iled  Jews  in  Persia 
were  menaced  by  Aman,  and  their  deliverance  by  Esther.  This 
book  is  generally  ascribed  to  Mardochai.  The  book  of  Tobias  is 
supposed  to  have  been  written  by  that  holy  man  himself;  but 
the  author  of  Judith  is  unknown.      ^;  "^    '^ 

.  The  two  Books  of  the  Machabees  contain  the  history  of  the 
persecution  of  the  Jews  under  the  kings  of  Syria,  especially 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  profanation  of  the  temple,  the  upris 
ing  of  the  Machabees,  their  victories  and  triumph  under  Simon. 
The  first  book  is  ascribed  to  John  Hyrcanus,  the  other  to  Ju(ra8, 
an  Essene.        .-;.  V;--^-:'v-"VC  ^.i-,> •■:--<■"■  vr.v.   ,:.;■■■    ■ 

The  moral  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are :  the  Book  of  Job, 
which  represents  in  the  person  of  Job  virtue  overtaken  by  afflic- 
tion, and  shows  that  temporal  evils  are  a  consequence  of  sin,  but 
often  are  visited  on  the  Jusjb  in  order  to  purify  them  from  their 
least  faults.  The  author  of  this  book  is  unknown,  although 
many  ascribe  it  to  Moses.  ^^    '    s       1 

The  Psalms  are  canticles  of  praise,  extolling  God's  benefits,  or 


X08AI0  OB  JEWISH  REVBLATIOIT. 


1U7 


prayers  to  implore  of  the  Almighty  graces  or  pardon  for  sin.  By 
these  different  characters  they  admirably  suit  all  conditions  of 
the  soul,  and  on  this  account  are  constantly  employed  by  the 
Oimrch  in  her  offices.  They  also  contain  prophecies  concerning 
the  Messias.  Most  of  the  Psalms  were  composed  by  D  ivid,  so 
that  the  whole  collection  goes  by  his  name. 

The  Book  of  Proverbs,  by  Solomon,  contains  lessons  of  virtue 
adapted  especially  for  mature  age.  They  are  short  maxims,  piov- 
erbs,  comparisons,  or  parables. 

Ecclesiastes,  composed  by  Solomon,  shows  the  vanity  of  all 
human  things,  and  that  true  happiness  is  to  be  found  in  God 
alane.  , 

The  Canticle  of  Canticles,  also  by  Solomon,  represents,  under 
the  figure  of  the  love  of  the  bridegroom  for  the  bride,  that  of 
(lod  for  the  people  of  Israel,  and  for  each  just  soul  in  particular, 
;ind  that  of  Jesus  Christ  for  his  Church.  This  meauiug  of  the 
book  is  shown  by  other  passages  of  Scripture,  where  the  people 
of  Israel  are  styled  the  spouse  of  God ;'  the  Messias  the  bride- 
^'^oom  of  the  Church ;'  the  faithful  soul  the  spouse  of  Christ.' 

Wisdom  depicts  wisdom  as  the  source  of  virtue  and  happiuess, 
and  shows  the  means  of  acquiring  it.     The  authjr  is  unknown. 

Ecclesiasticus,  called  also  Ben  Sira,  or  the  Son  of  Sirach,  was 
written  by  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach,  and  contains  moral  lessons, 
based  on  examples  drawn  from  the  Sacred  Writings. 

The  prophetical  books  are  the  work-  of  men  inspired  b;  God, 
and  called  prophets  because  they  foretold  the  future.  They  are 
divided  into  the  greater  and  lesser  prophets. 

There  are  four  of  the  greater  prophets :  Isaias,  whose  prophe- 
cies concern  the  kingdoms  of  Juda  and  Israel,  announce  the  de- 
struction of  the  Babylonian  empire,  and  the  return  of  the  Jews 
from  captivity.  They  so  explicitly  designate  the  Messias,  de- 
scended from  David,  his  divine  character,  mission,  miracles,  pas- 
sion, and  death,  that  we  may  with  St.  Jerome  style  Isaias  an 
Evangelist. 

Jeremias  foretold  to  the  Jews  the  captivity  of  Babylon  as  a 


'Jerem.  ii.  2. 


'Ps.  xliv.;  Eph.  v.  34. 


» 2  Cor.  XI.  2. 


106 


GREAT  ABTI0LE8  OF  THE  OATIIOLIO  FAITH. 


punisbment  from  God,  and  their  return  after  seventy  years;  his 
sorrow  over  the  desola^^^ion  of  his  country  is  expressed  in  his  Lam- 
entations. He  also  announced  that  God  would  form  a  new 
alliance  with  his  people  through  the  Messias.  The  Book  of 
Baruch,  the  disciple  of  Jeremiaa,  is  always  reckoned  with  his, 
because  it  was  composed  in  part  by  Jeremias.  Baruch  exhorts 
the  captive  Jews  to  penance,  and  consoles  them  with  the  hope  of 
speedy  return  to  their  own  country. 

Ezechiel  speaks  to  the  Jews  of  the  justice  of  God's  judgments, 
foretells  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  but  tempers  the  bitterness 
by  consoling  promises,  especially  of  the  reign  of  the  Messias. 

Daniel  relates  bis  visions  as  to  the  future  of  empires  and  tho 
coming  of  the  Messias,  the  time  of  whose  coming  he  fixes  by 
weeks  of  years.  A  part  of  his  book  is  historical,  and  relates 
events  of  the  reigns  of  Nabuchodonosor  and  Baltassar. 

The  lesser  prophets,  twelve  in  number,  are,  in  chronological 
order:  Osee,  Joel,  Amos,  Abdias,  Jonas,  Micheas,  Nahum, Haba- 
cue.  Sophonias,  Aggeus,  Zacharias,  and  Malachias.  They  con- 
demn the  infidelity  of  the  Jewish  people,  foretell  the  punish- 
ments which  await  them  the  return  from  the  captivity,  the 
rebuilding  of  the  temple,  and  the  coming  of  the  Messias. 

Micheas,  Aggeus,  Zacharias,  and  Malachias  are  very  (explicit  on 
the  last  point.  Micheas  announces  that  he  will  be  bom  in  Beth- 
lehem. Aggeus  announces  that  the  second  temple,  materially 
less  beautiful  than  Solomon's,  was  to  see  the  Messias  within  its 
walls ;  Zacharias  predicts  the  Bedeemer's  passion,  his  betrayal, 
his  being  sold  for  thirty  pieces,  his  hands  and  side  pierced; 
Malachias  announces  the  institution  of  the  Eucharist,  as  a  pure 
oblation,  oflPered  in  all  places. 

The  truths  contained  in  the  Old  Testament  are  divinely  re- 
vealed ;  in  other  words,  the  authors  were  inspired  by  God  while 
writing  them.  Nosv  inspiration  guarantees  their  historical  ve- 
racity. These  books,  then,  are  not  only  written  by  trustworthy 
and  truthful  men,  but  by  men  supernaturally  guided. 

The  authenticity  of  the  Old  Testament  is  proved  by  the  tes- 
timony of  the  whole  Jewish  nation,  and  even  of  foreign  authors 
from  the  date  of  their  composition.   Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles 


X06AI0  OR  JEWIRH  BEYSLATION. 


109 


constantly  appeal  to  these  books  as  recognized  by  the  Jews.  The 
early  Christians  and  tlieir  ptigan  opponents  alike  recognized 
them  as  authentic  Tracing  them  back  we  And  them  translated 
into  Greek  under  Ptolemy  II.,  in  Egypt,  300  b.o.  ;  collected  and 
arranged  by  Esdras  500  b.o.  We  find  in  the  hands  of  the 
Samaritans  books  composed  and  received  before  the  division  of 
the  kingdoms  of  Juda  and  Israel.  We  find  Cyrus  recognizing 
their  authont'city.  The  whole  worship  of  the  Jewish  people 
points  to  Moses  as  the  author  of  the  Pentateuch  and  the  law- 
giver. This  clear,  universal,  constant  tradition  is  not  contra- 
dicted by  any  other  tradition.  The  Jews  had  no  motive  to'  in- 
vent them,  and  never  would  have  invented  books  full  of  such 
terrible  denunciations  of  themselves. 

The  style  of  the  different  books,  their  intimate  connection  with 
each  other,  also  attest  their  authenticity. 

They  have  come  down  to  us  unimpaired.  Our  Lord  and  his 
apostles  cite  them,  and  the  Church  received  them  at  their  hands ; 
while  the  Jews  have  continued  to  guard  them  jealously.  There 
could  have  been  no  alteration  or  interpolation  before  the  division 
of  the  kingdom  of  Solomon,  for  two  sets  of  manuscripts  kept  by 
hostile  bodies,  Jews  and  Samaritans,  show  by  their  agreement  that 
none  had  been  made,  and  each  would  have  been  ready  to  charge 
the  other.  During  the  captivity  the  Jews  were  scattered,  some 
in  Egypt,  some  in  other  countries,  and  the  books  were  translated 
into  Greek.     After  that  time  a  change  was  still  less  possible. 

The  authors  of  the  Old  Testament  are  to  be  beljeved  because 
they  have  not  been  deceived  or  sought  to  deceive.  Moses  and  the 
rest  relate  what  they  saw,  or  what  was  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
men,  and  though  other  nations  have  preserved  early  records  of 
primeval  affairs,  no  account  is  so  clear,  coherent,  definite,  and 
supported  as  that  of  Moses.  The  prophets  prove  their  veracity 
by  their  predictions  of  events  which  have  come  to  pass,  and  which 
they  could  have  known  only  by  inspiration  from  on  high. 

Written  under  the  inspiration  and  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  these  books  contain  revealed  truths.  While  other 
nations  groveled  in  ignorance  and  superstition,  these  books  gave 
the  Jews  a  most  exact  and  complete  knowledge  of  God,  his  nature 


110 


UKSAT  ABTI0LS8  OF  TIIV  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


and  perfections,  and  the  worship  to  be  rendered  to  him,  a-i  rail 
as  a  code  of  pure  and  high  morality.  Mones  and  the  prophets,  in 
giving  this  knowledge  and  law,  or  recalling  the  people  to  it,  proved 
their  mission  by  miracles.  Ah  the  laws  of  nature  have  their  base 
in  the  will  of  God,  miracles  can  be  th(;  act  of  God  alone,  tiUH[»on- 
sions  of  the  action  of  the  laws  included  in  the  very  act  of  God's 
will  establishing  them.  If  God  can  establish  the  laws,  he  can  do 
so  subject  to  such  conditional  modifications  as  he  will.  But  if 
God  can  work  miracles,  it  is  and  miist  be  possible  to  attain  cer- 
tain assurance  of  their  reality.  i  ,    y,* 

The  Council  of  the  Vatican  anathematizes  those  who  say  "  that 
no  miracles  can  take  place,  and  that  consequently  all  the  narra- 
tives concerning  them,  even  those  contained  in  holy  Scripture, 
are  to  be  dismissed  as  fabulous  and  mythical;  or  that  miracles 
can  never  be  certainly  recognized  as  such,  nor  the  divine  origin 
of  the  Christian  religion  rightly  proved  by  them."  ■ 

Miracles  thus  understood  are  an  infallible  proof  in  favor  of  the 
truth  and  divinity  of  a  doctrine.  We  cannot  refuse  to  recognize 
him  as  an  envoy  of  God  who  shows  himself  to  be  the  depositary 
of  his  power.  Why  should  God  give  man  the  power  tocomiuand 
the  elements,  and  death  itself,  if  he  did  not  wish  to  prove  by 
prodigies  that  he  has  appointed  him  to  act  and  speak  in  his  name  'i 
God  is  not  the  author  of  falsehood,  and  cannot  favor  or  suppoi-t 
an  imposture.  Therefore  when  a  miracle  is  wrought  to  support 
an  affirmation,  that  affirmation  is  true,  and  declared  such  by  God. 
Now  the  miracles  wrought  by  Moses  and  the  prophets  were 
acknowledged  by  the  Jews,  and  by  Gentiles  like  Nabuchodouo- 
sor,  Cyrus,  Darius. 

Prophecy  is  a  knowledge  of  future  contingent  things,  that  is, 
things  depending  on  the  free  will  of  God  or  of  man.  Such  knowl- 
edge belongs  to  God  alone,  to  whom  the  past  and  future  are  like 
the  present.  Consequently  God  can,  and  alone  can,  impart  such 
knowledge.  The  men  to  whom  he  communicates  this  supernatural 
knowledge  of  things  to  come  are  called  prophets.  Every  prophecy, 
the  truth  of  which  is  proved  by  the  event,  can  come  from  God 


•  Council  of  the  Vntican,  seas.  3.    Of  Faith,  Can.  4. 


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doms  of  I 
The  peopl 
faith  unde 
they  then 
debasemei 
1.  The  Ph 
fillment  o 
hypocrisy, 
with  God'i 
SadduceeSj 
Jewish  chi 
future  rew 
munity  an 
self-rightei 
ting  the  P 
a  sacrilegi 


'W^iif^:^  '^f.^fc:^*'-  ■ 


MOSAIC  OtL  JEWISH  REVELATION. 


Ill 


alone,  and  is  inspired.  A  prophecy  made  to  support  another 
prophecy  attests  the  second  positively  when  it  is  proved  by  the 
actual  result  of  the  first.  The  prophecies  relating  to  the  Messias 
are  proved  by  the  fact  that  other  prophecies,  such  as  that  of 
Isaac's  birth,  the  bondage  in  Egypt,  the  possession  of  the  Promised 
L&nd,  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  captivity,  actually  took  place  just  as 
they  were  foretold.     Hence  the  prophecies  of  the  Mes&  *  as  are  true. 

Before  Redemption,  mankind   were  divided  into  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  or  heathens. 

God  had  chosen  Abraham  to  be  the  father  of  a  people  whom 
he  destined  to  preserve  the  true  faith  till  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
sias. This  people,  at  first  restricted  to  Abraham  and  Isaac,  then 
to  Jacob  and  his  family,  multiplied  in  Egypt,  which  it  left  to 
enter  the  land  of  Ohanaan,  which  God  had  promised.  On  the 
way  it  received  from  the  Almighty,  by  the  hands  of  Moses,  a  com- 
plete civil  and  religious  code.  They  no  sooner  entered  into  pos- 
session of  the  Promised  Land  than  they  forgot  the  Lord  repeated- 
ly, and  even  fell  into  idolatry,  so  that  they  had  to  be  brought 
back  to  the  true  God  by  chastisements,  which  he  inflicted  on 
them,  after  warning  them  beforehand  by  his  prophets.  The  most 
striking  of  these  chastisements  was  the  destruction  of  fhe  king- 
doms of  Israel  and  Juda,  followed  by  the  captivity  of  Babylon. 
The  people  of  God  showed  zeal  and  courage  in  defending  theif 
faith  under  the  Machabees  against  the  (ireek  kings  of  Syria,  But 
they  then  degenerated ;  religion  declined  ;  a  moral  and  religions 
debasement  followed,  due  especially  to  the  sects  which  arose: 
1.  The  Pharisees,  who  aimed  at  purit/  of  doctriue  and  exact  ful- 
fillment of  the  law,  but  soon  fell  into  aml>ition,  pride,  a'^d 
hypocrisy,  and  elevating  their  own  practices  ind  ideas  to  a  levd 
with  God's  commandments,  were  excessively  intolerant.  2.  ITie 
Sadducees,  freethinkers,  who  rejected  the  oral  traditions  of  the 
Jewish  church,  denied  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  a  state  of 
future  rewards  and  punishments.  3.  The  Essenea,  living  in  com- 
munity and  celibacy,  strict  observers  of  the  law,  but  harsh  and 
self-righteous.  4.  The  Samaritans,  pagan  in  origin,  but  admit- 
ting the  Pentateuch,  and  following  the  law  of  Moaes,  though  in 
a  sacrilegious  temple  on  Mount  Garizim, 


119 


OBXAT-  ABTI0LE8  OF  THV  OATKOUO  FAITtt. 


Witb  this  Variety  of  ^ects  religion  declined  among  the  people, 
who  placed  all  merit  in  an  exterior  worship,  although  offered  by 
many  with  interior  doubts  and  incredulity.  There  were  but 
few  true  Israelites  who  worshiped  God  in  all  sincerity,  looked 
for  the  coming  of  the  Messias,  and  desired  it  all  the  more  be- 
cause the  signs  announced  by  the  pl-ophets  clearly  indicated  that 
the  time  was  at  hand. 

The  pagan  nations,  even  the  most  civilized,  such  as  the  Egyp- 
tians, Phoenicians,  Greeks,  and  Komans,  were  plunged  in  the 
deepest  ignorance  'n  regard  to  religion.  They  had  completely 
lost  the  true  idea  of  the  Godhead,  and  gave  their  adoration  to 
deceased  kings,  to  the  sun  and  stars,  to  animals,  and  even  to 
plants.  Even  the  wisest  philosophers  who  lived  among  them, 
like  Socrates  and  Plato,  could  rise  no  higher.  The  primitive 
truths  had  been  corrupted,  so  that  scarcely  a  trace  remained. 
Yet  all  looked  for  a  Saviour ;  Hermes  in  Egypt,  a  son  of  God 
in  Scandinavia,  a  heavenly  messenger  in  Greece,  while  Kome  and 
Italy  looked  to  Judea  in  the  Bast  for  the  divine  child  who  was 
to  restore  the  happy  age  of  peace  and  rule  the  world  with  love.' 

What  were  the  means  of  salvation  for  mankind  during  this 
long  period?  The  Mosaic  law  pointed  out  the  good  and  the 
evil,  but  did  not  give  grace,  and  consequently  could  not  lead 
men  to  eternal  life.  "If  there  had  been  a  law  given  which 
could  give  life,  verily  justice  should  have  been  by  the  law ;  but 
the  Scripture  hath  concluded  all  under  sin,  that  the  promise  by 
the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  might  be  givgn  to  them  that  believe." ' 
Hence  the  Council  of  Trent  declares :  "  Not  even  the  Jews,  by 
the  very  letter  itself  of  the  law  of  Moses,  were  able  to  be  liber- 
ated or  to  arise  therefrom  "  (i,  e.j  the  power  of  the  devil  and  of 
death).* 

The  law,  however,  had  many  advantages.  It  preserved  the  true 
knowledge  of  God,  a  worship  pleasing  to  him;  it  taught  the 
people  to  love  good  and  avoid  evil ;  hj  its  observances  it  taught 
mortification  and  self-renunciation.  Above  all, :«  wti3  r«  teacher 
leading  men  to  Christ.*    Those  who  lived  before  our  Saviour 


'  SocFRtes,  Virgil,  Tacitus,  SuetoniuB. 
*  Sess.  yi.,  c.  1. 


*Ga1.  iii.  11,31,22. 
*  OiU.  iii.  8i. 


MOSAIC  OB  JEWISH  KEVJELATIOir. 


h-- 


118 


could  not  enter  beaven  before  him,  but  by  the  grace  which  God 
granted  them  on  account  of  the  Redeemer  to  come,  they  could 
merit  heaven  and  in  time  enter  it.  God  granted  graces  to  men 
before  Christianity,  in  view  of  the  Redeemer's  merits,  to  enable 
them  to  attain  eternal  felicity.  The  Scriptures  mention  many 
before  the  coming  of  our  Lord  as  just ;  now  no  one  could  be  justi- 
fied by  his  own  virtue  or  by  the  Mosaic  law.  They  could  be 
justified  only  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  yet  to  come. 

St.  Paul  te&ches  that  life  and  salvation  are  offered  by  Jesus 
Christ  to  all  to  whom  the  sin  of  Adam  extended,  consequently  to 
those  who  lived  in  previous  ages,  and  who  could  profit  by  his 
grace  only  in  their  lifetime.  It  was  through  their  faith  in  him 
as  the  Messias  that  their  sacrifices  and  observances  were  meritori- 
ous. They  did  not  give  grace  as  sacraments  do,  but  they  pro- 
duced an  exterior  legal  sanctity  and  occasioned  meritorious  dispo- 
sitions only  through  their  reference  to  the  New  Testament. 

The  just  of  the  old  law,  although  delivered  from  original  sin 
and  their  own  sins  by  faith  in  a  Redeemer,  and  observing  the  law 
of  God,  remained  excluded  from  heaven,  on  account  of  Adam's 
sin,  till  Jesus  Christ  had  paid  the  price  of  redemption. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  means  of  salvation  for  the  heatl>eti. 
God  acted  in  various  manners  on  their  mind  and  heart,  either  bv 
supernatural  impulses  and  light,  revealing  God  as  the  author  of 
gra<3e,  or  by  knowledge  and  sentiments  revealing  him  as  tfie  God 
of  ^nature.  Holy  Scripture  tells  us  thai  God  instructed,  warned, 
or  exhorted  the  pagans,  by  the  voice  of  conscience  and  by  interior 
inspirations ;  *  by  benefits  in  the  order  of  nature ; '  by  chastise- 
Jients ;  •  by  remarkable  and  extraordinary  men  whom  God  raised 
up  among  the  pagans  or  sent  to  them,  such  as  Job  among  the 
Arabs ;  Balaam  at  Moab ;  Jonas  at  Nineve ;  Daniel  at  Babylon ; 
by  the  Israelites  whom  God  scattered  among  the  nations,  with 
their  sacred  books.  "  He  hath  therefore  scattered  you  among  the 
Gentiles,  who  know  him  not,  that  you  may  declare  his  wonderful 
works,  and  make  them  kno  v  that  there  is  no  other  Almighty  God 
besides  him,"  *  says  holy  Tobias.    Sometimes  by  angels,  dreams. 


.  ■ 


>  BomanB  ii,  13, 16. 
»  WiBdom  xi.  1,  2. 


*  Acts  zir.  14-16 ;  Bomans  i,  19, : 
'  Tobias  ziii.  i. 


^ 


114 


OBEAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


apparitions,  or  marvelotis  events.  Thus  Nabuchodonosor  was 
taagbt  in  a  dream  to  know  the  true  God  and  the  kingdom  of  the 
Messias.^  A  dumb  animal  prevented  Balaam  from  cursing  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  an  angel  showed  him  God's  will.* 

Thus  we  see  that  divine  Providence  did  not  neglect  even  the 
pagans,  and  led  them  to  a  knowledge  of  a  Redeemer  to  come. 
All  the  heathen  nations  had  a  sense  of  guilt  and  looked  for  a 
Saviour,  and  they  retained  the  rite  of  sacrifice  as  a  proof. 

The  heathen,  then,  by  observing  the  natural  kw,  by  a  general 
hope  in  the  coming  of  the  Redeemer,  and,  when  t.bey  had  sinned, 
by  perfect  contrition,  obtained  through  grace,  be  saved. 


|y 


The  Accomplishment  op  Redemption. 

The  time  fixed  for  the  redemption  of  the  human  race  having 
been  accomplished  the  Son  of  God  descended  on  earth  and 
became  mj.n,  to  satisfy  the  justice  of  his  Father,  and  thus 
ransom  man.  This  fact  is  proved  in  Christian  revelation,  which 
comprehends  all  the  truths  imparted  to  men  by  Jesus  Christ, 
either  directly  or  through  the  apostles,  by  virtue  of  the  mission 
which  he  gave  them  to  teach  all  natioLS,  and  instruct  them  in  all 
that  he  had  commanded  them.  All  the  truths  of  previous  revela- 
tions are  here  confirmed,  and  others,  obscurely  alluded  to,  are 
fully  revealed.  Nothing  is  contradicted.  God  and  his  attributes 
are  more  clearly  made  known ;  the  three  divine  Persons  are  made 
clear;  redemption,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead,  are  all  placed  in  a  new  light.  The  moral  law  is 
elevated  to  that  of  love,  the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  our 
neighbor ;  the  works  of  mercy  to  him  are  especially  recommended, 
and  their  performance  rewarded  as  if  done  to  the  Redeemer  him- 
self. The  value  of  the  soul  and  salvation  are  laid  before  us,  and 
a  higher  path,  that  of  the  evangelical  counsels,  is  given  to  those 
who  desire  to  be  perfect.  Jesus  Christ  verified  in  his  life  all  the 
types  and  prophecies  of  the  old  law ;  and  after  his  life  of  mira- 
cles effected  our  redemption  by  his  death  on  the  cross,  having 
established  the  Church  as  his  kingdom  to  continue  his  work. 


>  Daniel  ii. 


'  Numbera  xxil. 


-THE  WOBK  OF  THE  BEDEEMEB. 


115 


The  Christian  revelation  is  contained  in  the  New  Testament : 
the  four  Gospels  by  St.  Matthew  and  St.  John,  two  of  his  apos- 
tles, St  Mark  and  St.  Lake,  disciples  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul; 
these  give  in  detail  the  life,  teaching,  miracles,  nnd  passion  of 
our  Lord.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  ajso  by  St.  Luke.  Twenty- 
one  Epistles,  fourteen  written  by  St.  Paul,  two  by  St.  Peter,  three 
by  St.  John,  one  by  St.  James,  one  by  St.  Jude,  contain  a  number 
of  instructions  on  faith,  morals,  or  discipline,  explain  difficulties, 
give  cautions,  or  exhort  to  the  practice  of  the  highest  virtue. 
The  Apocalypse  is  a  prophetic  book  written  by  St.  John,  con- 
taining divine  revelations  as  to  the  future  of  the  Church.  The 
divinity  or  inspiration  of  these  books  is  guaranteed  to  us  by  the 
Church,  which  existed  before  they  were  written,  and  gives  them 
to  us  as  inspired.  We  can  establish  it  also  historically,  by  show- 
ing that  they  are  as  much  entitled  to  credit  as  the  most  authentic 
records  of  those  days ;  and  thence  prove  the  infallible  authority 
and  divine  institution  of  the  Church. 


The  Work  c»f  the  Redeemer. 

To  be  ransomed,  man  needed  a  Saviour  who  could  satisfy  God's 
justice.  As  his  intellect  had  beer  obscured  by  sin,  and  he  had 
lost  the  knowledge  of  the  liruths  which  enlightened  him  as  to  his 
destiny,  he  had  to  be  reptored  by  his  Redeemer  to  the  possession 
of  these  truths.  Hency,  before  redeeming  man,  Jesus  Christ  re- 
vealed to  him  the  truths  which  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  know 
in  order  to  attain  salv  ation.  Then  he  made  satisfaction  for  man, 
principally  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  cross.  Finally  he  established 
the  means  by  which  the  merits  of  his  sacrifice  were  to  be  applied 
to  us.  Thus  he  has  fulfilled  toward  us  the  threefold  function 
of  prophet  or  doctor,  pontiff  and  king.  He  has  enlightened  us 
by  his  teaching ;  he  has  made  satisfaction  for  us  by  his  sacrifice ; 
and  he  has  traced  the  way  of  salvation  by  his  commandments,  by 
the  laws  and  ordinances  of  his  kingdom,  the  Church. 

Jesus  Christ  has  been  our  Doctor  and  our  Prophet,  because  lie 
has  brought  us  the  orders  of  bis  Heavenly  Father,  revealed  the 
fut'ire,  regulated  the  divine  worship,  condemned  vice  and  the 


116 


(3^VKA.T  ABTIOLBS  OF  THE  OAtHOLIO  FAITH. 


traDsgression  of  the  law,  and  proved  his  divine  mission  by  incon- 
testable miracles.  God  had-  already,  on  frequent  occasions,  made 
known  salutary  truths,  and  intimated  his  will  to  his  people  by 
extraordinary  envoys.  Jesus  Christ  was  not  only  to  reveal  new 
truths,  but  to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  divine  truth  over  the  whole 
world.  "  He  was  the  true  light,  which  enlighteneth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  this  world."  • 

He  was  to  act  ov  the  will  of  man  by  his  example,  and  on 
the'  understanding  by  his  doctrine,  for  humanity  lacked  at 
once  light  and  s<  e:- .,th.  As  man,  Jesus  Christ  is  a  visible 
model;  as  God  r  sure  and  infallible  model.  Humanity,  banished 
from  its  Create  ^  ^  the  person  of  its  first  member,  who  had  sought 
to  attain  a  divine  ■  iblance  by  illicit  means,  was  to  return  to 
God  by  its  resembianoe  to  Jesus  Christ.  "  Whom  he  foreknew 
he  also  predestinated  to  be  made  conformable  to  the  image  of 
his  Son."  * 

The  Peeesthood  and  Sacrifice  op  Jesus  Chbist. 

"We  say  in  the  Apostles'  Creed  that  "  Jesus  Christ  suffered  un- 
der Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified,  dead  and  buried.  He  descended 
into  hell."  The  passion  and  death  of  our  Saviour  are  not  only 
the  crowning  acts  of  the  whole  work  of  our  Redemption,  and  con- 
sequently the  object  of  our  faith  and  the  foundation  of  our  hope, 
but  also  the  most  powerful  motive  to  induce  us  to  lead  a  truly 
Christian  and  pious  life.  St.  Paul  h\  so  deeply  touched  with 
this  mystery,  that  he  professes  to  know  nothing  else  biTt  Jesus 
crucified.  "  I  judged  not  myself  to  know  anything  among  you 
but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified."' 

Jesus  Christ,  after  coming  down  from  heaven  to  earth  to  ran- 
som us,  offered  hip? self  to  his  Father  by  dying  for  us  on  the  cross. 
As  he  was  without  sin,  it  was  not  for  himself,  but  for  us  that  he 
suffered  and  offered  himself.  As  pontiff  he  is  elevated  as  far 
above  all  the  high-priests  of  the  old  law  as  he  surpa^^^s  in  knowl- 
edge all  prophets  sent  by  God.  His  sacrifice  excels  all  the  an- 
cient sacrifices,  which  were  only  a  figure  and  a  shadow  of  it,  and 
it  has  therefore  an  infinite  value  and  merit. 


•John  i.  9. 


•  RoDians  viii. 


« 1  Cor.  »i.  2. 


THE  PBIBSTHOOD  AND  8A0BIFIOE  OF  JESUS  CHEIST. 


117 


Eveiy  sacrifice  consists  in  the  immolation  of  a  victim  offered 
to  God.  Jesus  Christ  immolated  himself  on  the  cross,  and  offered 
himself  to  God  his  Father.  He  had  indeed  immolated  iiimself 
during  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  by  fulfilling,  as  he  himself 
says,  the  will  of  his  Father,  who  hiA  sent  him  to  ransom  men  by 
his  blbod.  Still  his  death  on  the  cross  was  the  consummation 
of  his  life  and  passion ;  hence  we  consider  it  mainly  as  constitut* 
ing  his  sacrifice,  in  which  he  was  at  once  victim  and  priest. 

He  was  really  immolated.  He  died  on  the  cross  from  the  effect 
of  his  sufferings  and  crucifixion.  It  was  a  real  death,  that  is  to 
say,  his  soul  separated  from  the  body.  "  And  Jesus,  crying  with 
a  loud  voice,  said :  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit ; 
and  saying  this  he  gave  up  the  ghost,"  expired. 

The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  was  a  violent  death,  that  is  to  say, 
a  real  immolation.  He  voluntarily  gave  his  life,  but  did  not  in- 
flict the  death-stroke.  Men,  his  enemies,  made  him  suffer  a,nd 
die ;  these  were  the  executioners  who  nailed  him  to  the  cross. 

Jesus  Christ  willed  to  suffer  and  die  thus  for  us  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  divine  justice  for  our  sins,  to  redeeiQ  ue,  and  acquire 
merits  for  us.    This  was  his  design  in  immolating  and  offering 
.himself  for  us. 

Jesus  Christ  wished  to  satisfy  the  Justice  of  God  by  giving 

himself  up  to  death  for  us  through  obedience.    Man,  by  refusing, 

.through  sin,  the  obedience  due  to  God,  becomes  his  debtor;  and 

the  wrong  done  his  Creator  constitutes,  according  to  Holy  Writ, 

a  fault  and  a  debt.* 

Having  incurred  the  wrath  of  an  infinitely  Just  and  holy  God, 
he  was  obliged  to  undergo  the  chastisement  of  his  sin,  so  that  he 
bears  the  double  weight  of  his  fault  and  his  punishment.  Now 
Jesus  Christ  has  discharged  this  twofold  debt,  in  our  stead,  by 
his  passion  and  death ;  that  is  to  say,  he  has  -epaired  the  wrong 
done  to  God,  and  has  undergone  the  penalty  which  we  deserved. 
He  therefore  really  died  for  us,  in  our  stead,  and  not  only  as  the 
Socinians  pretend,  in  our  favor — that  is  to  say,  with  a  viev/  to  ex- 
cite us  by  his  death  to  contrition,  and  inspire  us  with  courage  to 
suffer  death,  after  his  examrl?,  \¥^      Joy. 


m 


iiiiAt*..  vL  18. 


118 


QBBAT  ABTIOLIS  OF  TUB  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


He  offered  satisfaction  to  Gfbd  for  us :  this  is  clear  from  the 
passages  of  Scripture  where  his  passion  and  death  are  represented 
as  a  ransom  paid  for  us :  "  You  are  bought  wifh  a  great  price." ' 
"  Knowing  that  you  were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible  gold  or 
silver,  ....  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb 
unspotted  and  undefiled."  •  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us."  •  "  One  mediator  of 
God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  a  redemp- 
tion for  all,"  ♦  All  these  passages  are  to  be  understood  not  of  a 
mere  deliverance  without  ransom,  or  of  a  redemption  improperly 
called,  but  of  a  redemption  by  a  ransom,  of  a  real  satisfaction. 
The  price  and  ransom  are  mentioned  and  compared  to  silver  and 
gold.  The  blood  of  the  Saviour  then  offered  to  the  Heaveuly 
Father  to  deliver  man  from  the  yoke  of  sin,  and  the  slavery  of 
Satan,  is  as  really  a  ransom  as  the  gold  and  silver  paid  to  de- 
liver a  captive. 

He  offered  this  satisfaction  f'^r  us,  as  we  conclude  from  the 
passages  of  Scripture  where  it  is  said  that  he  has  taken  on  him 
and  undergone  in  our  stead  the  penalty  that  we  had  incurred  by 
our  sins.  "  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  infirmities,  and  carried  our 
sorrows :  and  we  have  thought  him  as  it  were  a  leper,  and  as  one 
struck  by  God  and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our  in- 
iquities; he  was  bruised  for  our  sins:  the  chastisement  of  our 
peace  was  upon  him,  and  by  his  bruises  we  are  healed.  All  we 
like  sheep  have  gone  astray,  e«-ery  one  hath  turned  aside  into  his 
own  way :  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all." ' 
St.  Peter,  alluding  to  this  prophecy,  says :  "  Christ  also  suffered 
for  us,  ...  .  who  did  no  sin,  ....  who  his  own  self  bore  our 
sins  in  his  body  upon  the  tree."  •  Jesus  Christ  bore  our  sins  and 
their  penalty,  not  in  the  sense  that  he  simply  effaced  or  abolished 
them,  but  he  took  them  upon  him  and  bore  them  himself,  as  St. 
Peter  explicitly  says.  St.  Matthew,  it  is  true,  applies  these  words 
of  Isaias  to  the  miraculoiis  cures  performed  by  our  Lord ;  but  he 
does  not  intend  to  exhaust  the  whole  meaning  of  the  prophecy, 


>  1  Cor.  vi.  «0. 
*  1  Tim.  U.  6. 


•  1  Peter  i.  18, 19. 

*  Isaiaa  liii.  4,  6. 


•Gal.  iii.  18. 

•1  Pet.  ii.  21,  22,  24, 


TBS  PRIESTHOOD  AND  8A0BIFI0B  0¥  JBSUS  CHRIST. 


110 


citing  only  the  opening  words,  which  may  apply  also  to  the  tem 
porary  chastisements  of  sin.  He  does  not  cite  the  words  of  Isaias 
which  speak  of  his  passion,  and  does  not  enter  on  that  subject. 

Christ  offered  himself  to  God  for  our  sins.  The  apostle  St.  Paul, 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  sets  forth  at  length  the  priesthood 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Now  it  is  not  by  preaching,  or  by  prayer,  or  by 
his  example,  but  by  the  offering  of  his  sacrifice,  that  Christ  exer- 
cised his  sacerdotal  functions.  "  For  every  high -priest  taken  from 
among  men,  is  ordained  for  men  in  the  things  that  ai)pertain  to 
God,  that  he  may  offer  up  gifts  and  sacrifices  for  sins.'"  "For 
every  high-priest  is  appointed  to  offer  gifts  and  8acrifice^ :  where- 
fore it  is  necessary  that  he  also  should  have  something  to  offer."' 
This  victim,  and  at  the  same  time  this  high-priest,  was  our  Saviour 
himself.     "  For  it  was  jtting  that  we  should  have  such  a  '.igh- 

priest,  holy,  innocent,  undefiled,  separated  from  sinners 

"Who  needeth  not  daily,  as  the  other  priests,  to  offer  sacrifices  first 
for  his  own  sins,  and  then  for  the  people's;  for  this  he  did  once 
in  offering  himself." '  He  made  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  then  not 
for  himself,  but  for  us.  "  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  hath  de- 
livered himself  for  us,  an  oblation  and  a  sacrifice  to  God."*  Nor 
is  it  in  consequence  of  his  ofl&ce  of  mediator,  which  he  now  holds 
in  heaven,  that  Christ  is  called  high-priest ;  for  he  offered  him- 
self once.  "  Christ  being  come  an  high-priest,  ....  by  his  own 
blood  entered  once  into  the  Holies  (into  heaven  itself),  having 
obtained  eternal  redemption." '  These  words  evidently  relate  to 
i  the  death  of  Christ  upon  the  cross.  He  continues  in  heaven  to 
offer  the  sacrifice  which  he  accomplished  upon  earth,  in  the  sense 
that  he  relies  on  the  merits  of  that  sacrifice  in  his  intercession  for 
us.  Thus  the  high-priest  under  the  old  law,  entered  the  Holies 
to  offer  up  to  God  the  blood  which  had  been  shed  without. 
Christ  then  satisfied  for  us  in  the  sacrifice  in  which  he  was  both 
pnont  tind  victim. 

Jesus  Christ  offered  a  full  and  entire  satisfaction  for  us.  Never- 
theless, the  apostle  can  say  that  we  are  justified  "  freely,"  *  and 
that  God  pardons  our  sins  out  of  his  kindness.'    So  far  as  we  are 


'Heb.  V.  1.  'Heb.  viii.  8. 

» Heb,  ix.  11, 13,  24. 


« Heb.  vii.  26,  27. 
*  Bom.  hi.  24. 


*Epbes.  V.  2. 
'  EpheB.  iv,  82. 


"k-o 


190 


aUKAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 


concerned,  God  grants  us  pardon  for  our  sin  a  gratuitously,  not 
only  because  he  finds  no  personal  merit  in  us,  but  also  because  he 
freely  and  spontaneously  sent  us  a  Redeemer,  and  because  be  was 
not  even  obliged  to  accept  the  satisfacti«ja  which  Jesas  Christ 
offered  him  for  us.  He  who  is  offended  is  not  bound  to  accept 
the  repartition  offered  by  a  third  party,  he  may  insist  on  it  from 
the  guilty  one. 

A  human  judge  could  not  shed  the  blood  of  an  innocent  per- 
son who  wished  to  devote  himself  for  a  criminal ;  the  innocent 
would  not  even  be  permitted  so  to  offer  himself,  because  he  is  not 
master  of  his  own  life.  But  Christ  could,  by  virtue  of  his  full 
authority,  make  the  sacrifice  of  his  life,  and  the  Father,  as  master 
of  life  and  death,  could  accept  it. 

Redemption  is  the  consequence  of  the  satisfaction  offered  to 
God  by  Jesus  Christ,  for  from  the  moment  that  our  Saviour 
really  paid  our  ransom  we  have  becLi  redeemed.  By  undergo- 
ing death  for  us  he  lias  pn'srrved  our  life  for  us  and  saved  us. 
He  chose  to  be  called  Jesus  (»r  Sa\aour,  because  the  salvation  of 
man  was  the  real  object  of  his  mortal  life. 

JeP'is  Christ  wished  to  merit  for  us  by  his  passion  and  death. 
Befoi  ,  we  must  here  observe  that  Jesus  Christ  appeared  upon 
earth  not  as  a  private  person,  but  as  the  chief  of  the  whole 
human  race.  He  is  the  new  Adam,  possessing  over  his  spiritual 
posterity  an  influence  like  that  which  the  first  Adam  exercised 
over  his  carnal  descendants,  and  becoming  a  cause  of  salvation 
for  his  children  according  to  grace,  as  Adam  had  been  a  cause  of 
perdition  for  his  children  according  to  the  flesh.  Consequently 
the  effect  which  the  acts  and  works  of  a  man  would  produce  for 
him  personally,  the  acts  of  Jesus  Christ  extend  to  all  mankind.' 

He  merited  for  us  by  offering  his  life  as  a  sacrifice.  Accord- 
ing to  St.  Thojnas  the  effect  of  every  sacrifice  is  not  only  to  ap- 
pease God's  anger,  but  also  to  draw  down  on  us  his  good  pleas- 
ure.* In  so  far  as  the  object  offered  is  destroyed,  and  bears  the 
penalty  deserved  by  another,  it  appeases  God's  anger ;  in  so  far 
;is  the  offering  thereof  constitutes  a  homage  rendered  to  the  li- 


■  St.  Thomas,  S.  3,  q.  48,  a.  1. 


*Sum.  8,  q.  40,  a.  4. 


%--^ 


li£S  PUS8TH00D  AlTD  8A0RI7I0B  OF  JBBUB  0HBX8T. 


121 


vine  majesty,  it  draws  down  en  us  his  good- will.  By  making 
the  sacrifice  of  his  life,  Jesus  Christ  not  only  appeased  his  Father, 
oflfended  by  man ;  he  presented  to  him,  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
human  race,  a  noble  offering,  perfectly  worthy  of  him,  and  which 
wap  to  draw  on  us,  in  the  highest  degree,  his  good-will,  with  all 
the  abundance  of  his  gifts  and  bienefits.  The  apos^  xpresses 
this  in  the  following  words:  "Christ  loved  us,  hn^h  de- 

livered himself  for  us,  an  oblation.and  a  sacrifice  r  an 

odour  of  sweetness." '    The  obedience  which  he  p  fro/n 

the  first  instant  of  his  conception,  and  which  he  displayed  in  the 
highest  degree  in  his  death  on  the  cross,  possessed  the  same  merit 
as  the  sacrifice  of  his  life.  Our  first  parent,  as  representing  the 
whole  human  race,  had,  by  his  disobedience,  drawn  God's  wrath 
on  all  his  posterity ;  so  the  obedieuc^e  practiced  by  Jesus  Christ, 
our  head  and  father,  according  to  ^race,  drew  on  us  the  divine 
pleasure.  The  apostle  St.  Paul  affirms  it.  "  As  by  the  disobe- 
dience of  one  man  many  were  made  sinners,  so  also  by  the  obe- 
dience of  one  many  shall  be  made  just."'  This  explains  our 
Saviour's  care  to  express,  in  all  circumstances,  his  obedience  to 
his  Father.  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me, 
%that  I  may  perfect  his  work."  *  Hence  his  zeal  to  fulfill  the  whole 
law.  "Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or  the 
prophets.     I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill."  * 

To  conclude,  tlie  same  merit  is  found  in  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  his  Father,  for  love  provokes  and  merits  love.  From 
love,  and  at  the  same  time  from  obedience,  Jesus  delivered  him- 
self up  to  death.  For,  says  St.  Thomas,  he  fulfilled  the  com- 
mandments of  love  by  obedience,  and  he  obeyed  from  love.*  He 
himself  adduces  his  life  as  a  proof  of  his  love  for  his  Father. 
"That  the  world  may  know  that  1  love  the  Father,  and  as  the 
Father  hath  given  me  commandment  so  I  do :  arise,  let  us  go 
hence."*  It  was  after  saying  these  words  that  he  proceeded  to 
the  spots  which  were  to  be  the  scene  of  his  passion.  This  love 
which  inflamed  the  heart  of  Jesus  for  God,  was  properly  speak- 
ing that  of  all  humanity,  of  whom  the  Redeemer  was  the  rep- 


i 


I 


'Ephes.  T.  2. 
*Matt.  V.  17. 


'  Romans  t.  19. 

*  Sum.  3,  q.  47,  a.  2,  ad.  8. 


*  John  ir.  34. 

*  John  xiv.  81. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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ScMices 
Corporation 


23  WBT  MAIN  STMn 

WIUTU.N.Y.  14SM 

(71«)t7a-4S03 


4^ 


132 


GREAT  ABTIOLES  OF  THE  OATHOUO  FAITH. 


resentative ;  consequently  be  must  have  drawn  down  on  us  the 
love  and  complacency  of  God,  no  less  than  on  himself. 

Jesus  Christ  possessed  all  the  conditions  requisite  for  acquir* 
ing  merits.  His  works  were  supernatural,  accomplished  irom  su< 
pernatural  motives  and  through  grace.  This  cannot  be  doubted. 
On  the  side  of  God  a  reward  was  promised  to  his  acts. 

"  If  he  shall  lay  down  his  life  for  sin  he  shall  see  a  long-lived 
seed." '  According  to  this  prophecy  a  new  and  holy  race  was  to 
be  the  reward  of  his  sacrifice.  Again,  Jesus  Christ  was  a  per- 
son in  whom  God  was  well  pleased,  endowed  with  liberty,  and 
still  living  in  the  conditions  of  earthly  pilgrimage.  Undoubt- 
edly the  soul  of  Jesus  Christ  engaged  the  intuitive  vision  of 
God,  and  under  this  respect  could  no  more  merit  than  the  saints 
in  heaven.  But  this  intuitive  vi^on  was  granted  to  him  only  so 
far  as  it  was  compatible  with  the  work  of  redemption.  It  did 
not  yet  manifest  all  its  effects  in  t]ie  faculties  of  soul  and  body ; 
it  left  them  exposed  to  the  impressions  of  pain  coming  from 
without,  and  also  maintained  the  possibility  of  merit.  Hence 
we  ascribe  no  merit  to  the  acts  of  love  proceeding  from  the  clear 
vision  of  God,  but  only  to  those  which  had,  as  a  principle,  all 
other  kinds  of  knowledge,  and  which  were  consequently  free. 

The  Church  expresses  its  faith  in  the  merits  of  Christ,  in  all 
its  prayers,  which  it  always  closes  with  the  words,  "  Through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  The  Council  cf  Trent  confirms  it  in 
several  canons.* 


Effects  of  the  Saobifioe  of  Christ. 

Jesus  Christ  consummated  and  offered  his  sacrifice  for  the  re- 
demption of  the  human  race.  The  superabundant  merits  of  this 
sacrifice,  applied  to  men,  have  had  the  effect  of  ransoming  fhem, 
that  is  to  say,  delivering  them  from  sin,  as  well  as  from  the  evils 
which  sin  had  drawn  upon  them,  of  reconciling  them  with  God 
and  re-opening  heaven,  on  condition,  however,  that  the  obliga- 
tions which  the  Saviour  might  impose  should  be  accomplished, 

Sin  had  drawn  down  on  men  the  wrath  of  God,  had  excluded 


>  I8»ia8  liii.  10. 


*SeBS.  6,  c«D.  2, 10, 


''>■'".-"? 


JZBUS  0BBI8T  AS  klHO.— THE  OHUBOH. 


198 


them  from  heaven,  and  condemned  them  to  be  slaves  of  Satan 
and  hell.  The  sacrifice  of  Jesus  had  the  effect  to  deliver  them 
from  all  these  evils  and  merit  the  graces  necessary  to  recover 
their  right  to  their  heavenly  inheritance. 

The  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  are  sufficient  and  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  expiate  the  sins  of  all  men  and  obtain  for  them  the  graces 
of  salvation.  Such  a  sacrifice  Jesus  Christ  alone  could  offer,  be- 
cause as  the  offence  to  God  by  sin  is  infinite,  no  man,  no  angel, 
could  offer  an  adequate  reparation. 

Jesus  Christ  died  and  offered  his  sacrifice  for  the  salvation  of 
all  men,  but  all  are  not  saved.  Only  those  who  fulfill  the  neces- 
sary conditions  can  share  in  the  fruits  of  his  redemption.  The 
conditions  required  to  partake  of  the  merits  of  our  Lord  and 
thus  attain  eternal  felicity  are :  1st.  Faith.  Jesus  Christ  is  our 
master ;  if  we  refuse  to  believe  what  he  has  taught,  we  cannot  be 
united  to  him,  nor  participate  in  his  justice  in  order  to  be  saved. 
2d.  The  observance  of  the  commandments.  As  king,  Jesus  Christ 
imposed  laws  on  his  subjects,  either  to  trace  the  way  that  leads 
to  their  last  end,  or  to  enable  them  to  show  their  entire  submis- 
sion and  obedience.  3d.  Recourse  to  the  sources  of  grace  which 
Jesus  Christ  has  instituted.  Man  was  to  become  like  unto  Christ. 
But  he  cannot  of  himself  transform  his  heart  into  new  earth, 
and  plant  there  the  divine  flowers  of  virtue,  nor  quicken  it  by  a 
heavenly  dew.  Grace  alone  can  produce  this  result.  God  out 
of^pure  goodness  awakens  in  our  heart  the  first  salutary  thoughts 
and  sentiments ;  but  he  wishes  us  then  to  have  recourse  to  the 
means  which  he  has  established  in  his  kingdom,  the  Church, 
prayer,  and  the  sacraments,  in  order  to  obtain  new  graces.  These 
means  must  give  our  faith  and  our  observance  of  the  commandr 
ments  a  supernatural  and  meritorious  character,  and  thus  unite 
us  to  Jesus  Christ,  our  head. 


Jesus  Christ  as  King — ^The  Chuech  as  the  Channel  of  the 

Graces  of  Redemption. 

As  God,  Jesus  has  all  power  over  his  creatures.  As  Redeemer 
he  has  the  right  to  command  men  whom  he  has  ransomed,  and 


'.■S    f* 


1S4 


aetaun^^vnoLEB  or  vwt  OATBotio  FAirk. 


U: 


impose  such  conditions  as  he  chooseaan  regard  to  the  application 
of  the  merits  of  his  sacrifice.  He  solemnly  declared  himself  a 
king  when  questioned  by  Pilate.  "  Thou  sayest  it,  I  am  a  king."> 
In  the  Apocalypse  St.  John  portrays  him  with  all  the  insignia  of 
royalty.  "  And  he  hath  on  his  garment  and  on  his  thigh  written, 
*  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords.' "  *  All  men,  princes  and 
subjects,  must  recognize  his  sway.  The  royal  prophet  makes  the 
Divine  Father  address  him:  "I  will  give  thee  the  gentiles  for 
thy  inheritance,  and  the  utmost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  po» 
session."'  He  will  treat  his  faithful  subjects  with  love  and  kind- 
ness. "  Grace  is  poured  abroad  in  thy  lips."*  Sooner  or  later  he 
shall  crush  his  enemies  with  irresistible  power.  "  Thou  shalt  rule 
them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  shall  break  them  in  pieces  like  a 
potter's  wheel."*  Commenced  on  earth,  his  reign  shall  endure 
eternally  as  the  angel  announced  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 
^  He  shall  reign  in  the  house  of  Jacob  forever,  and  of  his  king- 
dom there  shall  be  no  el^d."*  David  saw  this:  "Thy  throne,  0 
God,  is  for  ever  and  ever ;  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a  sceptre 
of  uprightness.  Thou  hast  loved  justice  and  hated  iniquity ; 
therefore,  O  God,  thy  God  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of 
gladness  above  thy  fellows." 

Jesus  Christ  is  then  a  king,  and  possesses  a  real  kingdom ;  the 
royal  authority  includes  the  power  of  imposi  aws  on  subjects. 
Jesus  Christ  is  consequently  a  lawgiver,  and  as  he  must  necessa- 
rily sanction  his  laws  by  rewards  and  punishments,  he  is  a  judge. 
He  is  therefore  king,  lawgiver,  supreme  judge. 

The  Church,  his  kingdom,  was  instituted  by  him  to  teach  his 
doctrine  and  to  confer  on  men  the  sacraments  to  which  he  attached 
his  graces,  giving  her  power  to  impose  such  conditions  as  she  sav<r 
best,  assisted  by  him  and  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  the 
Church  continues  to  perform  the  threefold  function  accomplished 
by  Jesus  Christ  himself  on  earth :  teacher,  priest,  and  king. 

We  may  define  the  Church  the  society  of  the  faithful,  who  pro- 
fess the  same  faith,  and  partake  of  the  same  sacraments,  under 


>StJohnzyiii.87. 
«Pi.xHY.  8. 


*  Apoc.  xiz.  16. 
•P«.M.O. 


•P8.1i.8. 

•St.  Luke  i.  83,8a 


the  authority  of  the  lawful  pastors,  the  successors  of  the  apostles, 
and  under  the  supreme  direction  of'  the  Pope,  tha  successor  of 
St.  Peter. 

The  holy  Scriptures  designate  the  Church  under  various  names, 
the  House  of  God,*  the  City  of  God,»  the  Holy  City  Jerusalem,'  a 
City  set  on  a  mountain,^  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,*  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ,*  the  Fold  of  Christ,'  the  Body  of  Christ,*  the  Spouse  of 
Christ,'  a  Queen,"  a  Garden  inclosed,  a  Fountain  sealed  up.  Par* 
adise,  a  Dove.'*  Under  these  different  names  the  Church  is  rep* 
resented  as  a  society  enjoying  a  heavenly  origin,  an  universal  ex- 
tent, a  perpetual  duration,  and  unity  both  interior  and  exterior. 

The  Church  is  also  represented  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
tament by  different  figures.  These  are:  the  Earthly  Paradise, 
Eve,  Noe's  ark,  the  Jewish  people,  the  City  and  Temple  of  Jeru- 
salem, a  stone  cut  out  of  a  mountain,  that  became  a  great  moun- 
tain and  filled  the  whole  earth,**  the  Seamless  Kobe  of  Christ,  the 
Bark  of  Peter,  the  two  draughts  of  fish  made  by  order  of  our 
Lord,  the  vessel  let  down  from  heaven  in  St.  Peter's  vision.  These 
figures  show  th">t  God  is  the  author  of  the  Church,  who  governs 
it,  who  speaks  by  it ;  that  it  is  one,  universal,  necessary. 

The  Church  is,  to  conclude,  characterized  by  various  parables 
in  the  gospels.  The  parables  of  the  Bam,"  the  Feast,"  the  Net," 
the  Sheepfold,  the  Mock,  the  Sheep,  the  Pasture,"  the  Field,  the 
Vineyard,  the  Garden,"  the  Mustard  Seed,"  the  Ten  Virgins."  The 
Holy  Fathers  explain  these  parables  as  representing  the  Church, 
as  a  society,  universal,  perpetual,  exposed  to  the  assaults  of  Satan, 
and  embracing  both  just  and  sinners. 

The  institution  of  the  Church  is  not  due  to  the  apostles,  but  to 
Jesus  Christ.  They  were  but  the  executors  of  the  will  and  orders 
of  their  divine  Master.    The  apostles  proclaimed  themselves  and 


>Tim.in.6;  Heb.  iii.  6. 

*  St.  Matt  V.  14. 

*  St.  jQhn  X. 
»•  Ps.  xllv. 


•  Ps.  xlvii.  1,  2. 

•  Luke  xiii.  18-20. 

•  C0I088.  i.  18. 
"Cantii.  10;  W.  12. 


»  St.  Matt.  iil.  18.  •*  St.  Matt.  xxii. ;  St.  Luke  xiv. 

«*  St.  Matt.  XXV.  82 ;  St.  Luke  tv.  14 ;  St.  John  x.  9. 
'^  St.  Matt  xiii.  24 ;  xx.  1 ;  St  Luke  xiii.  19. 
*St.  Matt'zxT. 


*  Apoc.  xvii.,  XTiii.,  xzL 

*  St  John  xyiii. 

*  Cant  iv.  8 ;  Apoc.  xxi.  9. 
"Dan.  ii.  84. 

>*  St  Matt  xiii.  47. 

<•  St  Lake  xiii. 


1S6 


OBEAT  ABTI0LE8  OF  THE  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


constantly  acted  as  servants  or  ministers  of  Christ,  and  dispensers 
of  the  mysteries  of  God.*  Hence  when  they  taught,  baptized, 
admonished,  or  punished,  they  did  so  "by  virtue  of  the  power 
which  the  Lord  had  given  them  for  edification,  and  not  for  de- 
struction.* Indeed  how  can  we  imagine  that  the  apostles  could 
have  raised  by  their  own  authority,  and  not  by  virtue  of  a  power 
received  from  on  high,  an  edifice  which  remains  standing,  in  spite 
of  all  the  assaults  of  which  it  has  been  the  object  for  centuries, 
and  in  spite  of  all  the  eflfbrts  to  overthrow  it  ?  Had  they  been 
content  merely  to  diffuse  some  ideas,  some  truths,  among  the 
nations,  their  undertaking  would  seem  less  surprising  ^nd  in- 
credible, but  their  aim  was  to  create  a  new  world,  and  this  result 
only  a  divine  power  could  attain. 

Jesus  Christ  himself  therefore  gave  them  their  mission  to 
found  the  Church.  He  disposed,  regulated,  ordained  all  for  the 
execution  of  this  plan.  It  was  his  will  that  all  who  believed  in 
him  should  form  a  single  religious  society,  which  was  to  last  to 
the  end  of  time ;  and  in  this  society  he  established  an  authority 
to  govern  it. 

When  our  Saviour  left  the  world,  the  apostles  in  a  measure 
took  his  place  to  continue  his  mission,  first  in  Judea,  then 
throughout  the  other  countries  of  the  world.  It  was  in  the 
designs  of  God  that  man  should  be  reconciled  with  heaven,  by 
means  of  the  triple  function  of  teacher,  priest,  and  king,  that 
Jesus  Christ  had  exercised  on  earth.  This  triple  function  was  to 
continue  to  be  exercised  as  long  as  there  were  men  to  save,  that 
is,  till  the  end  of  time.  It  was  the  creative  word  which  gave 
existence  to  the  supernatural  world,  as  the  jUit  of  creation  had 
drawn  from  nothingness  the  visible  world. 

This  was  evidently  the  will  of  Jesus  Christ  when  he  com- 
manded his  apostles  to  continue  his  mission:  ''Go  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them,  ....  and  behold  I  am  with  you  all 
days^  even  to  the  consummation  of  the  world."  •  *  As  long  as  the 
apostles  teach  and  through  baptism  and  other  sacraments  make 
men  partake  in  the  graces  purchased  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  very 


« X  Cor.  Jv.  1. 


»8Cor.H.8. 


*8t.Matt.xzyiii.l9,20. 


JESUB  OHSEST  AS  XINO.«— THB  OBVBOH. 


m 


end  of  time,  our  Lord  is  with  tbem.  To  the  end  of  time  then 
there  will  be  in  the  Church  those  commissioned  to  teach  and 
confer  the  sacraments,  who  form  one  moral  person  with  the 
apostles  to  whom  the  promise  was  made.  We  see  a  similar  use 
of  language  in  the  Old  Testament,  where  Moses  says  to  the 
Israelites  on  the  borders  of  the  Promised  Land:  ^Thou  shalt 
remember  all  the  way  through  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
brought  thee  for  forty  years,  through  the  desert  to  afflict  thee, 
and  to  prove  thee,'*  ^  yet  those  whom  he  addressed  were  not  those 
who  had  come  out  of  Egypt  and  wandered  in  the  desert  for  forty 
years,  but  as  their  children  they  were  regarded  as  morally  one 
with  them. 

/  In  the  Church,  as  in  every  society,  there  are  rulers  and  sub- 
jects, pastors  and  faithful :  the  former  invested  with  authority 
to  govern,  the  others  .subject  to  their  authority  as  we  have  seen 
elsewhere.) 

Jesus  Christ  founded  only  one  Church.  He  preach«3d  but  one 
faith  to  men.  The  Church  received  the  mission  of  preserving 
and  diffusing  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  was  established  to 
communicate  to  all  men  the  revealed  truths.  If  all  nations  are 
to  embrace  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  the  faith  is  the  same  every* 
where  and  for  all.  If  the  faith  is  the  same  everywhere  and  for 
all,  it  follows  that  all  nations  are  gathering  in  one  single  relig- 
ious family,  in  one  single  Church. 

The  same  conclusion  results  from  the  unity  of  baptism,  which 
is  the  entrance  door  of  the  Church.  ^  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism." » 

The  same  conclusion  is  drawn  from  the  unity  of  the  spiritual 
body  of  Christ.  The  Son  of  God  appeared  on  earth  to  unite 
himself  to  humanity,  and  lead  it  to  heaven.  All  men  are  to 
form  a  single  body  with  him  in  order  to  be  no  longer  members 
of  prevaricating  Adam,  but  of  the  new  and  innocent  Adam. 
This  incorporation  with  Christ  constitutes  the  Church,  for  the 
Church  is  his  body,  and  we  are  the  members  of  his  body,  of  his 
flesh,  and  of  his  bones.'  But  there  is  only  one  Christ  and  one 
body  of  Christ,  therefore  only  one  Church. 


<Deahviu.3. 


>£ph.  iy.  S. 


•Bph.y.  80. 


OBBAT  ABTIOLBS  OV  THB  OATHOLIO  FAITH. 


^68118  speaks  of  but  one  Ohuroh)  which  he  will  build  on  Pet^r, 
the  only  foundatio:i.  He  knows  but  one  fold,  one  flock,  of  which 
he  is  himself  the  shepherd,  and  to  which  he  is  to  bring  his  scat- 
tered sheep.  "  And  other  sheep  I  have,  that  are  not  of  this  fold : 
them  also  I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice,  and  there 
shall  be  one  fold,  and  one  shepherd."  *  He  dies  in  order  to  unite 
all  men,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  into  one  great  family ;  ^  to  gather 
together  in  one  the  children  of  God  that  were  dispersed."  *  Thus 
the  miracle  of  Pentecost  breaks  down  the  wall  of  separation,  the 
almost  insurmountable  barrier  that  difference  of  language  had 
raised  between  nationa 

The  prophets  had  already  foreseen,  in  the  vista  of  ages,  this 
one  Church,  this  one  mountain  to  which  all  the  nations  were  to 
flock,  this  one  law  that  was  to  emanate  from  Jerusalem.  "  In 
the  last  days  the  mountain  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
prepared  on  the  top  of  mountains,  and  it  shall  be  exalted  above 
the  hills ;  and  all  nations  shall  flow  into  it.  And  many  people 
shall  go  and  say :  Gome  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountam  of 
the  Lord,  and  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  and  he  will 
teach  us  his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths ;  for  the  law 
shall  come  forth  from  8ion,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from 
Jerusalem."' 

Jesus  Christ  having  then  founded  one  Church,  in  which  all 
men  were  to  enter  who  wished  to  be  saved,  must  constitute  it  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  may  be  easily  known.  This  he  has  done 
by  rendering  it  visible,  by  investing  it  with  characters  which 
distinguish  it  from  societieft  that  falsely  lay  claim  to  the  title  of 
the  true  Church.  It  is  easy  therefore  to  recognize  that  the  true 
Church  is  no  other  than  the  Roman  or  Catholic  Church. 

This  institution,  a  kingdom  in  itself,  in  this  world,  but  not  of 
this  world,  with  the  world  arrayed  against  it,  teaching  mankind 
in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  God,  with  a  worship  and 
sacraments  through  which  the  redemption  purchased  by  Christ 
is  applied  to  each  soul,  stands  alone,  easy  to  recognize,  in  aU  ages 
and  quarters  of  the  earth. 

The  Church  established  by  Jesus  Christ,  his  Spouse  continuing 


>  St.  John  X.  16. 


•  St.  John  zi.  62. 


*l8.a.2,8. 


JlSnS  0BBI8T  AS  KINO.— THE  OHUROB. 


his  work  on  earth,  must  be  indefectible.  She  cannot  fail  or  dis- 
appear from  the  earth ;  she  cannot  fall  or  err  from  the  truth ;  she 
cannot  mislead  men.  To  be  the  true  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  she 
must  be  one^  one  in  her  government,  in  the  union  of  all  her  mem- 
bers, one  in  her  doctrine,  one  in  her  sacrifice.  She  must  be  holy, 
inciting  all  to  be  holy  even  as  her  heavenly  Spouse  is  holy,  and 
must  be  able  to  show  in  all  ages  examples  of  the  most  exalted 
holiness  among  her  children.  She  must  be  Catholic,  embracing 
all  times  and  ages,  men  of  all  races  and  colors,  the  cultivated  and 
the  savage,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned. 
She  must  be  apostolical,  deriving  her  powers  and  her  doctrine  by 
continuous  descent  and  tradition  from  the  apostles,  and  speaking 
in  their  name  and  by  the  authority  conferred  upon  them.  All 
these  any  one  who  reflects,  must  admit  to  be  necessary  to  a  full 
idea  of  the  true  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  they  are  found  in 
the  Catholic  Church  alone.  She  alone  claims  and  boasts  of  her 
apostolic  descent  and  orders ;  she  alone  claims  to  have  held  and 
preserved  the  deposit  of  faith  through  nineteen  centuries;  she 
alone  speaks  with  the  confidence  inspired  by  that  deposit  of  faith ; 
she  alone  has  her  worship  and  her  devotions,  in  which  all  can 
join,  for  she  alone,  disregarding  all  external  circumstances  and 
conditions,  wins  the  allegiance  of  the  intellect  and  the  heart,  so 
that  at  her  altar  men  of  every  race,  straL^vn'9  to  one  another  in 
language,  government,  manners,  can  kneel  side  by  side  all  at 
home,  children  of  the  one  Church  and  of  the  one  God. 

The  very  charges  made  against  the  Church  are  proofs.  Men 
denounce  her  for  claiming  infallibility  for  her  highest  tribunal, 
the  Sovereign  Pontiff  and  the  Councils.  Can  she  be  the  deposi- 
tory of  God's  truth  and  erri  They  assail  her  for  holding  up  to 
our  veneration  those  of  her  children  whose  eminent  sanctity 
makes  them  models.  Can  she  be  of  God  and  not  be  holy  ?  They 
blame  her  for  not  being  narrowed  down  to  the  prevailing  ideas 
of  the  time  in  each  country,  for  being  one,  a  kingdom  by  herself. 
Could  she  be  ever  fluctuating  and  be  of  God,  in  whom  there  is 
no  change  \ 

To  belong  to  this  Church  is  the  greatest  of  blessings;  and  it 
claims  justly  our  deepest  love  and  reverence. 


Vl\  I 


180 


OBBAT  ABTIOUDB  Of  TBI  OATHOLIO  TAITH. 


**My  lOD,'*  Bays  the  wise  man,  ''hear  the  instruotion  of  thy 
ikther,  and  forsake  not  the  law  of  thy  mother."  *  The  Ohurch 
acts  as  a  real  mother  toward  us,  fK>m  the  first  instant  of  our  ex- 
istence to  the  last  We  had  scarcely  opened  our  eyes  to  the  light 
of  day,  when  she  lovingly  took  us  into  her  arms,  and  by  the  sacra- 
ment of  baptism  made  us  children  of  God.  As  our  understand- 
ing developed,  the  Ohurch  initiated  us  to  those  sublime  truths 
which  the  wise  men  of  antiquity  sought  so  earnestly,  but  never 
succeeded  in  attaining.  Out  of  the  Church  there  has  been  naught 
but  confusion  and  wandering ;  no  one  has  been  able  to  guide  the 
nations  that  abandoned  her ;  many  of  the  wretched  have  done 
naught  but  vacillate  in  their  faith,  till  they  laid  their  wearied 
heads  in  the  tomb,  after  having  their  whole  life  long  sought  to 
grasp  deceitful  lights,  and  peered  out  in  vain  for  a  glimpse  of  a 
light-house  amid  the  stormy  waves  of  error.  We  have  not  been 
thus  tempest-tossed,  because  we  have  had  the  Church  as  our 
guide ;  we  have  safely  steered  our  bark  through  the  angry  bil- 
lows, because  we  kept  our  eyes  fixed  unwaveringly  on  the  lumin- 
oua  doctrine  of  the  Church.  How  shall  we  recognize  the  maternal 
solicitude  with  which  the  Church  has  constantly  nourished  us 
with  the  Divine  Word  ?  She  has  asked  but  little  of  us,  a  filial 
docility,  a  faithful  attachment  to  her  teaching,  a  prompt  submis- 
sion to  her  decisions. 

The  Church  is  a  sure  guide  not  only  for  our  understanding,  but 
also  for  our  will.  She  says  to  us  all :  *^  Come,  children,  hearken 
to  me,  I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord."  •  When  nations 
caught  and  dragged  away  by  the  whirlwind  of  passion  no  longer 
respect  any  law,  the  Church  raised  her  voice,  and  like  Moses  de- 
scending from  the  mountain,  proclaimed  to  them  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord,  which  were  then  listened  to  in  silence.  This 
spectacle,  which  history  has  frequently  presented  to  us,  is  daily 
renewed  in  the  human  heart,  which  is  a  microcosm,  a  world  in 
miniature.  Fierce,  violent  passions  assail  the  heart  of  the  young 
man;  he  is  bewildered,  he  is  about  to  yield  to  the  force  of  the 
violent  undertow :  but  the  voice  of  the  Church  reaches  him,  it 


'PWT.  L8. 


•Ps  xxxiii.  la. 


JIBUB  OHBIBT  A»  KUTO.— TBI  OBUBCa 


181 


recalls  bini)  it  remindii  him  of  the  divine  law  of  confesflion.  Sud* 
denly  the  storm  ceases,  innocence  is  saved.  Independently  of  the 
general  laws  by  which  the  Church  regulates  our  life,  she  sends  us 
her  ministers,  to  stand  like  guardian  angels  beside  us,  instruct* 
ing,  warning  us,  encouraging  us  incessantly  to  good.  ^*The  lips 
of  the  priest  shall  keep  knowledge,  and  they  shall  seek  the  law 
at  his  mouth,  because  he  is  the  angel  of  the  Lord  of  hosts." '  We 
should  in  vain  flatter  ourselves  that  we  were  faithful  children  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  if  we  despised  either  her  general  laws,  or 
^  her  particular  precepts.  Our  attachment  to  the  Church  increases 
or  diminishes  in  the  same  degree  that  we  AilfiU  or  neglect  to  ful- 
fill her  will.  If  we  are  at  times  tempted  to  see  justly  or  unjustly, 
transgressors  of  the  law  as  ministers  of  religion,  let  us  remember 
that  the  chair  of  Jesus  Christ  has  succeeded  the  chair  of  Moses^ 
and  that  there  is  always  occasion  to  apply  these  words  of  our 
Saviour :  '*  All  things  whatsoever  they  shall  say  to  you,  observe 
and  do  [provided  it  is  not  opposed  to  the  teaching  and  precepts 
of  the  universal  Church],  but  according  to  their  works  do  ye  not."  • 
As  a  tender  mother,  the  Church  fortifies  us  by  means  of  the 
supernatural  helps  of  which  she  is  the  depositary  and  dispenser 
by  the  divine  commission.  After  she  has  given  us  the  life  of 
grace,  by  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  and  when  we  had  reached 
the  full  use  of  reason,  she  nourishes  us  with  a  heavenly  food,  the 
Body  of  our  Divine  Saviour.  "Who  could  ever  forget  that  happy 
moment,  when  for  the  first  time  the  King  of  Heaven  comes  to 
dwell  in  his  heart } 

When  man  has  spent  six  days  in  the  occupations  of  his  earthly 
life,  the  blessed  sound  of  the  bell  comes  to  warn  him  to  abandon 
his  labors,  in  order  to  think  of  his  soul,  his  God,  another  life, 
and  to  obtain  a  foretaste  of  his  union  with  God  in  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem.  The  Church  brings  him  to  the  foot  of  the  altars, 
which  inclose  the  bones  of  her  dearest  children,  the  martyrs. 
When  the  violence  of  persecution  forced  her  to  abandon  a  coun- 
try, she  did  not  forget  to  carry  with  her  those  precious  remains, 
to  excite  and  fortify  by  their  presence  the  faith  of  her  other  chil- 


>Malacbia8U.7. 


*St.Matt,iqdii,8, 


188 


OBIAT  AsnoLn  or  thi  oathouo  faitb. 


dren.  The  holy  sacriflce  begins;  multitudes  of  blessed  spirits 
descend  from  heaven  to  adore  the  Saviour,  who  offers  himself 
under  the  appearances  of  bread  and  wine.  The  sentiments  which 
penetrate  the  soul  at  that  moment,  and  the  graces  which  she  de- 
rives from  the  fountain  open  on  the  altar,  give  him  strength  to 
combat  and  vanquish  in  the  coming  week  all  temptations  that 
arise,  and  to  bear  with  patience  all  the  miseries  of  life. 

The  priestly  ministry  embraces  in  its  action  all  the  important 
circumstances  of  human  life.  By  confirmation  the  Church  forti- 
fies the  young  hearts  against  the  dangerous  allurements  of  the 
world.  Happy  those  who  never  cease  to  follow  faithfully  the 
standard  of  Jesus  Christ!  Then  comes  the  moment  when  a 
serious  determination  is  to  be  taken  as  to  a  career  to  be  entered 
on  and  followed  to  the  end  of  life.  The  Church  joyfully  intro- 
duces into  her  sanctuary  files  of  young  men,  in  whom  she  sees 
the  sublime  vocation  to  the  priesthood ;  she  makes  them  pros- 
trate themselves  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  and  consecrates  them  to 
the  service  of  the  Most  High.  To  the  Christian  virgin  who 
wishes  to  renounce  earth  and  please  only  her  Saviour,  she  gives 
the  vail,  beneath  which  she  will  remain  hidden  from  the  eyes  of 
the  world,  and  will  begin  to  lead,  in  the  silence  of  retirement,  an 
angelic  life.  But  the  Church  has  also  words  of  blessing  for 
another  state,  in  which  the  heart  lives  less  undividedly  for  God, 
for  a  state  in  which  it  is  bound  by  earthly  ties.  These  ties,  it  is 
true,  embrace  an  earthly  dust,  which  must  ere  long  be  scattered ; 
but  as  they  are  contracted  in  the  Church,  which  is  the  outer 
court  of  heaven,  and  under  her  benediction,  they  derive  from  it 
a  holy  character. 

The  roses  of  life  have  shed  their  petals;  man  reaches  the  term 
of  his  earthly  career.  The  Church  sends  her  minister  into  the 
palace  of  the  rich  and  the  hut  of  the  poor,  to  console  the  latter, 
who  is  deprived  of  everything,  and  to  offer  to  the  other,  whom 
perhaps  those  around  cruelly  try  to  deceive  as  to  his  condition, 
the  only  real  consolations,  the  consolations  of  religion.  The  soal 
soars  away  with  the  last  sigh  and  stands  before  the  tribunal  of 
God.  The  Church,  that  loving  mother,  accompanies  her  with 
her  prayers;  she  extinguishes  the  fires  of  purgatory  with  the 


JMV8  OHUtT  AS  KIVO. — THl  OHVBOR. 


blootf  of  Jetus  Christ,  which  she  offers  to  God.  Friends  and 
neighbors  at  last  forget  the  dead,  thn  Ohoroh  does  not  forget 
him;  she  bids  her  ministers  remember  him  daily  at  the  altar. 
She  even  accompanies  our  body  to  the  tomb  that  it  may  rest  in 
holy  ground  till  the  last  trumpet  sounds  to  awaken  it  from  the 
sleep  of  death. 

It  is  true  then  that  the  Church,  like  a  tender  mother,  assists 
ns  in  all  our  ways.  Let  us  show  ourselves  ever  her  faithful  chil- 
dren ;  listen  with  docility  to  her  teachings ;  fulfill  her  command* 
ments  punctually,  and  have  recourse  with  pious  eagerness  to  the 
means  of  sanctiflcation  which  she  offers  us.  Let  us  say  with 
Bossuet,  the  great  Bishop  of  Meauz :  "  0  holy  Roman  Church, 
Mother  of  Churches  and  Mother  of  all  the  faithful.  Church 
chosen  by  Ood  to  unite  all  his  children  in  the  same  Tuith  and  the 
same  charity,  we  shall  ever  hold  fast  to  thy  unity  by  our  very 
heartstrings.  If  I  forget  thee,  0  Church  of  Rome,  may  I  for* 
get  myself !  May  my  tongue  wither  and  lie  useless  in  my  mouth, 
if  thou  art  not  always  first  in  my  memory,  if  I  put  thee  not  at 
the  head  of  all  my  canticles  of  joy."  Let  us  also  remember  these 
other  words  of  the  same  bishop :  ''  In  gratitude  for  the  gift  of 
God,  the  seal  of  which  is  impressed  upon  you,  pray  without 
ceasing  for  his  Church ;  pray,  melt  into  tears  before  the  Lord. 
....  Tremble  at  the  very  shadow  of  division;  think  of  the 
misery  of  the  nations  which,  bursting  the  bonds  of  unity,  break 
up  into  so  many, fragments,  and  behold  at  last  in  their  religion 

only  the  confusion  of  hell  and  the   horror  of    death 

Against  these  fickle  minds  and  this  deceitful  charm  of  novelty, 
let  us  oppose  the  rock  on  which  we  are  built,  and  the  authority 
of  our  tradition,  which  includes  all  ages  past,  and  the  antiquity 
which  connects  us  with  the  very  origin  of  all  things.  Let  us 
walk  in  the  paths  of  our  fathers,  but  walk  with  their  pure  and 
simple  life,  as  we  desire  to  walk  in  the  purity  of  the  ancient 
faith." 


y. 


Vi 


,X\ 


Wf}fw''-i-'' 


'-«s 


"And  I  will  giv«  to  thee  th«  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.      And  whatsocv 
thou  thalt   bind   upon   earth,   it  shall   be   bound   also   in  heaven :   and    whateOMt-^ 
thou  thait  loose  upon  earth,  it  shall  be   loosed  a'.so  In  heaven."-  Malt.  xvi.  «( -^ 


■.l.('>-     f','"v 


4 


THB 


TEACHINGS  AND  ACTS  OF  ST.  PETER. 


THB  PRINOB  or  APOSTLHSL 
Am 


FIRST  VICAR   OF   CHRIST   ON   EARTH. 


TOOBTHEB  WITB 


THE   LIVES   OF 


St.  Patrick  and  St.  Bridget, 


M 


p.." 


Trz 


THE  TEACHINGS  AND  ACTS 


!  ) 


ST.  PETER,  THE  PRINCE  OF  APOSTLES, 


FIRST  VICAR  OF  CHRIS!  ON  EARTH. 


CHAPTER  I 

8T.    AKDRKW  AKD    BT.    FSTKR. — BT.    PKTKR    TriR    CHIEF    07    THI    AFOeAm.—OKEkt 

■RAUORT  OF  FI8HKB. — THE   APOBTLEB   REOBIVB  THE   HOLT   OHOSt. ANANIAS    AND 

■AFBIRA. 

St.  Peter,  the  prince  of  the  apostles,  and  first  vicar  of  Christ  on 
earth,  was  the  son  of  Jonas,  or  John,  of  the  tribe  of  Nephtali,  and 
was  bom  in  Bethsaida,  a  city  of  Galilee,  seventy-five  miles  >  listant 
from  Jerusalem,  situated  on  the  Sea  of  Tiberias.  His  original  name 
was  Simon.  Some  authors  have  fixed  the  date  of  his  birth  three 
years  "before  that  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  seventeen  years  before 
the  birth  of  Christ.  He  was  the  brother  of  St.  Andrew,  and  ac- 
cording to  Epiphanius  was  older  than  he.  Before  hip.  apostleship 
he  was  married,  and  dwelt  with  his  wife  and  relations  in  Caphema- 
um,  pursuing  the  trade  of  a  fisherman,  and  by  this  means  endeavor* 
ing  to  support  his  family.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Aristobu- 
lus,  the  brother  of  Barnabas,  and  she  is  said  by  Clement  Alexan* 
drinus  to  have  obtained  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  He  was  brought 
to  our  Lord  by  St.  Andrew,  who  tells  him  he  had  found  the  Meeh 
sias,  and  brings  him  to  him  who  is  the  Christ.  When  our  Lord 
.beholds  him,  he  says :  "  Thou  art  Simon  the  son  of  Jonas ;  thou 
shalt  be  called  Cephas,  which  is  interpreted  Peter.^ 

That  the  Cephas  who  was  reprehended  by  St.  Paul  for  the  in- 
consistency  of  his  conduct  with  respect  to  the  Mosaic  rites,  was  not 
Si  Peter,  is  the  opinion  of  the  best  writers.    Eusebius  quotes  Clen» 

1 


T'" 


.  t 


rli' 


9 


THB  TBAOHnraS,  AOTS,  AlTD 


ent  Alexandrinus  as  maintaiiiing  that  this  Cephas  was  one  of  the 
seventy  disciples.    This  opinion  is  followed  by  the  most  learned 
writers  of  antiquity,  by  St.  Jerome,  by  St  Gregory  the  Great,  by^  ^ 
St.  Anselm,  and  by  many  others. 

Some  have  supposed  that  St.  Andrew  and  Si  Peter  were  amongst 
the  disciples  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  were  anxiously  looking  for 
the  expectation  of  the  promised  Messias.  St.  Andrew  having  heard 
St.  John  the  Baptist  call  our  Lord  "the  Lamb  of  God;  behold,  he 
who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,"  (a)  was  convinced  of  his 
being  the  Messias,  and  hastens  to  impart  the  intelligence  to  St.  Peter. 
He  was  equally  anxious  with  his  brother  to  see  the  promised  Mes- 
sias, him  of  whom  the  law  and  the  prophets  had  written  so  much, 
so  that  when  he  beholds  him  he  believes  in  him,  and  stays  with 
him  during  the  remainder  of  the  day.  After  this  the  two  brothers 
leave  our  Lord,  and  i^tum  to  their  ordinary  occupation  as  fishes 
men. 

About  the  end  of  this  year,  the  first  of  our  Lord's  ministrations, 
it  would  appear  that  the  Saviour  of  the  world  saw  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Andrew  washing  their  nets  on  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias ;  he 
enters  into  the  ship  which  belonged  to  St.  Peter,  and  desires  him 
"  to  thrust  out  a  little  from  the  land,  and  sitting  down,  he  taught 
the  multitude  out  of  the  ship,  and  when  he  had  ceased  to  speak,  he 
said  to  Simon :  Launch  out  now  into  the  deep,  and  let  down  youi 
nets  for  a  draught,  and  Simon  answering  said  to  him :  Master,  we 
have  labored  all  the  night  and  have  taken  nothing ;  but  at  thy 
word  I  will  let  down  the  net ;  and  when  they  had  done  this  they 
enclosed  a  very  great  multitude  of  fishes,  and  their  net  was  break- 
ing,  and  they  beckoned  to  their  partners  who  were  in  the  other 
ship  that  they  should  come  and  help  tliem,  and  they  came,  and 
filled  both  the  ships,  so  that  they  were  almost  sinking,  which  when 
Simon  Peter  saw,  he  fell  down  at  Jesus'  knees  saying,  Depart  from 
me,  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  O  Lord."  This  humility  of  St.  Petei 
procures  for  them  greater  graces,  for  "  when  they  had  brought  their 
ships  to  land,  leaving  all  things,  they  follow  hinp."  And  for  this 
promptness  in  forsaking  the  things  of  the  world,  to  become  the  dip 


(a)  St.  John,  i.  20. 


-■■mriimHii*imK!^-sxnix" 


LIFE  OF  ST.  PETEB. 


I  of  fche 
learned 
reat,  by^ 

imongst 
cing  for 
g  heard 
iiold,  be 
i  of  bis 
t.  Peter, 
ed  Mes- 
0  mucb, 
iys  witb 
3rotbers 
s  fisber* 

brations, 
and  St. 
ias;  he 


oiples  of  Christ,  St.  Peter  is  told,  when  be  asks  our  Lord  what  they 
shall  have  who  have  left  all  things  and  followed  him :  "Amen,  I  say 
to  you,  that  you  who  have  followed  me  in  the  regeneration,  when 
the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  on  the  seat  of  his  majesty,  you  also  shall  sit 
on  twelve  seats,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  And  every  one 
that  hath  left  house,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or 
wife,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  my  name^s  sake,  shall  receive  a  hun- 
dred-fold, and  shall  possess  life  everlasting."  («) 

Our  Lord  is  said  to  have  baptized  St.  Peter  and  his  apostles ;  tb« 
seventy  disciples  are  said  to  have  been  baptized  by  St.  Peter  and 
St  John. 

Several  of  the  fathers  assert  that  after  his  apostleship  St  Peter 
separated  from  his  wife,  and  lived  in  a  state  of  continency  for  the 
remainder  of  his  days.  St  John  Chrysostom,  speaking  of  him,  calls 
him  an  illustrious  model  of  chastity,  (b) 

From  this  period  St.  Peter  and  St.  Andrew  closely  unite  them- 
selves  to  our  Lord,  and  do  not  leave  him  during  the  entire  period 
of  his  ministrations.  Going  from  thence  they  proceed  to  Capherna- 
um,  and,  accompanied  by  St.  James  and  St  John,  they  enter  their 
own  house.  There,  too,  our  Lord  enters,  and  heals  Simon^s  wife's 
mother,  who  is  sick  of  a  fever :  "  They  tell  him  of  her,  and  he  came 
and  lifted  her  up,  taking  her  by  the  hand,  and  immediately  the 
fever  left  her,  and  she  ministered  unto  him."  (c) 

Our  Lord  generally  addressed  hia  conversation  to  St  Peter,  who 
usually  answered  on  behalf  of  all  the  apostles.  Our  Lord  had  hith- 
erto  distinguished  him  from  the  other  apostles  by  the  tokens  of  dig- 
nity and  honor  which  he  had  shown  him.  About  a  year  before  the 
events  connected  with  his  passion  took  place,  our  Lord  resolves  to 
entrust  to  his  keeping  the  Church  which  he  was  to  tbund  on  earth. 
After  having  received  testimony  of  his  faith  and  of  his  charity,  and 
of  his  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  our  Lord  says  to  him :  •*  Thou 
art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it ;  and  I  will  give  to  thee  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  upon 
earth  it  shall  be  bound  also  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt 


m 


(a)  St.  Matt,  Ix.  27-90.       (5)  De  Yiigin,  o.  St.       {e)  St.  Mark,  !.  81. 


4  THs  TiAOHnros,  Aon,  amd 

lobM  apon  eartb  it  sball  be  loosed  also  in  heaven."  (a)  Si  Peter  !• 
often  represented  with  one  key  in  his  hand,  as  a  symbol  of  the  one 
holy  Catholic  and  apostolic  Church,and  as  an  evidence  of  the  primacy 
of  this  being  granted  to  him,  that  thus  there  might  be  one  fold  and 
one  pastor.  By  the  three  keys  with  which  St.  Peter  is  often  repre* 
■ented  as  holding  in  his  hand,  it  is  shown  that  authoiity  in  heavei, 
in  hell,  and  on  earth,  is  granted  to  him. 

On  another  occasion  our  Lord  declares  the  infallibility  of  Si 
Peter,  and  his  office  of  confirming  his  brethren  in  the  faith ;  for  at 
the  Last  Supper  he  addresses  him  thus :  '^And  thou  being  once  con- 
verted, confirm  thy  brethren  :"(&)  or,  as  the  most  celebrated  commen- 
tators seem  inclined  to  render  the  passage,  giving  its  proper  force  to 
the  adverb, "  thou  in  thy  turn  confirm  thy  brethren."  By  the  trib- 
ute which  our  Lord  paid  for  himself  and  Si  Peter,  he  desired  to 
confirm  the  supremacy  which  he  and  his  successors  were  to  exercise 
over  the  Church.  To  Si  Peter  our  Lord  had  consigned  the  mystical 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  by  this  he  and  the  Roman 
pontiffs  were  constituted  his  vicars  on  earth.  In  the  transfiguration 
our  Lord  made  him  also  partaker  of  his  glory,  with  two  other  apos- 
tles. Si  James  and  St.  John. 

On  two  separate  occasions  Si  Peter  shows  his  zeal  and  love  for 
our  Lord  by  casting  himself  into  the  sea,  and  not  waiting  until  the 
ship  would  arrive  at  land.  When  Si  Peter  heard  our  Lord  predict 
his  death  and  sufferings  in  Jerusalem,  he  expresses  in  the  strongest 
language  his  attachment  and  devotion  to  him,  and  tells  him  he  is 
ready  to  go  with  him  to  prison  and  to  death. 

Before  the  Last  Supper  our  Lord,  having  loved  his  apostles,  loved 
them  to  the  end ;  and  he  rises  from  the  table,  and  takes  a  towel  to 
gird  himself  with  it,  having  firat  laid  aside  his  garments ;  he  then 
pours  water  into  a  basin,  and  begins  to  wash  the  feet  of  his  disciples, 
and  to  wipe  them  with  the  towel  wherewith  he  was  girded.  "  He 
oometh  therefore  to  Simon  Peter,  and  Peter  saith  to  him :  Lord,  dost 
thou  wash  my  feet  ?  Jesus  answered  and  said  to  him :  What  I  do 
thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter.  Peter  said 
to  him :  Thou  shalt  never  wash  my  feei''    He  only  permits  his 


(«)  St.  Matt.  zvi.  18, 19.  (5)  St.  Luke,  zzii..  M. 


,  Peter  ii 
'  the  one 
primacy 
fold  and 
en  repre- 
I  heayei, 

ty  of  Si 
h ;  for  at 
once  con* 
commen* 
r  force  to 
the  trib- 
lesired  to 

0  exercise 
3  mystical 
e  Roman 
figuration 
iher  apos* 

1  love  for 
until  the 
d  predict 
strongest 
urn  he  is 

[les,  loved 
]  towel  to 
I;  he  then 
lisciplesy 
"He 
jrd,  dost 
[hat  I  do 
leter  said 
litshia 


LIFB  OF  IT.  PBTSB.  § 

Lord  to  do  so,  when  he  tells  him  that  ^  If  I  washed  thee  not,  tho« 
ahalt  have  no  part  with  me.**  (a) 

He  then  has  the  privilege  of  following  him  to  the  Garden  of  Geth 
lemane,  where,  with  St.  James  and  St.  John  he  is  a  witness  of  our 
,Lord's  being  carried  away  as  a  prisoner,  by  Judas  and  by  the  crow<? 
who  accompanied  him.  St.  Poter  accompanied  our  Lord,  and  hin 
heart  in  filled  with  zeal  when  he  beholds  him  thus  taken  prisoner 
and  he  stretches  forth  his  hand  and  draws  out  his  sword,  and  striken 
the  servant  of  the  high-priest,  and  cuts  off  his  ear.  Our  Lord  tumi 
round  to  St.  Peter,  and  having  healed  the  wound  which  he  had  in- 
flicted on  the  servant,  whose  name  was  Malchus,  he  addressed  him 
in  the  following  words :  "  Put  up  thy  sword  again  into  its  place,  for 
all  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the  sword." (A)  When  our 
Lord  was  brought  before  his  judges,  St.  Peter  accompanies  him,  and 
enters  with  him  into  the  house  of  Caiaphas,  where  two  of  the  ser- 
vant-maids say  to  him  that  he  was  with  Jesus  of  Galilee ;  this  St. 
Peter  denies  before  them  all,  saying :  "  I  know  not  what  thou  say- 
est ;"  the  second  time  he  denies  with  an  oath,  saying :  "  I  know  not 
the  man."  And  after  a  little  while,  those  that  stood  by  say  to  St. 
Peter:  "  Surely  thou  also  art  one  of  them,  for  even  thy  speech  doth ' 
discover  thee."  Then  he  begins  to  curse  and  to  swear,  that  he  knew 
not  the  man ;  "  and  immediately  the  cock  crew ;  and  Peter  remem- 
bered the  words  of  Jesus  which  he  had  said.  Before  the  cock  crow 
thou  wilt  deny  me  thrice ;  and  going  forth,  he  wept  bitterly."(c)  So 
deep  was  the  contrition  of  St.  Peter  for  his  denying  his  Lord,  and  so 
bitter  were  the  tears  which  he  shed,  that  they  are  said  to  have 
formed  two  furrows  in  his  cheeks,  which  remained  there  during  his 
life-time ;  and  the  life  which  he  led  from  that  time  forward  was  of 
80  mortified  a  nature,  that  he  usually  ate  nothing  but  herbs  or  roots. 

After  his  resurrection  our  Lord  appears  to  St.  Mary  Magdalen, 
and  bids  her  to  go  and  tell  his  apostles  and  St  Peter;  that  he 
went  before  them  into  Galilee.  Thus,  by  especially  mentioning  his 
name,  he  desires  to  show  them  that  he  has  accepted  the  penance 
which  he  had  performed  for  denying  him. 

After  this  our  Lord  shows  himself  again  to  the  disciples  at  the 


(a)  St.  Joluii  jdiL  8. 


(i)  Matt,  xvfi,  69.       (e)  Matt  urii  78-7^ 


'''is?r^s?' 


f  TBI  TBAOHOrOS,  AOTB,  AMD 

Bea  ofTi))eriai.  Simon  Peter  and  other  disciples  having  gone  a 
fishing,  during  the  night  they  caught  nothing ;  when  the  morning 
came  they  bebeld  Jesus  standing  on  the  shore,  and  they  knew  him 
not  In  reply  to  our  Lord  they  tell  him  they  have  not  any  meat, 
and  he  bids  them  cast  their  nets  on  the  right  side  of  the  ship  and 
they  should  find.  In  obedience  to  our  Lord^s  directions,  they  cast 
on  the  side  of  the  ship  he  directed  them,  and  they  are  not  able 
to  draw  for  the  multitude  of  fishes.  The  disciple  whom  the  Lord 
loved,  St.  John,  says  to  St.  Peter,  "  It  is  the  Lord."  As  soon  as 
Simon  Peter  hears  this,  he  girds  his  coat  about  him,  and  casts  him* 
self  into  the  sea.  The  other  disciples  come  to  the  land  in  the  ship 
with  the  fishes  ^  and  they  find  hot  coals  lying,  and  a  fish  laid  there- 
on, and  bread.  Our  Lord  tells  them  to  bring  to  him  some  of  the 
fishes  which  they  had  caught.  St  Peter  draws  the  net  to  laud  full 
of  great  fishes,  and  the  net  was  not  broken.  Our  Lord  then  tells 
them  to  come  and  dine ;  they  know  it  is  the  Lord.  When  they  sit 
down  Jesus  comes  and  takes  bread  and  gives  it  them,  together  with 
the  fish  to  eat.  When  the  dinner  is  finished,  he  addresses  himself 
to  St.  Peter  and  says :  "  Simon  son  of  John,  lovest  thou  me  more 
than  these  ?  He  saith  to  him.  Yea,  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love 
thee ;  and  he  saith  to  him  feed  my  lambs.  He  saith  to  him  again, 
Simon  son  of  John,  lovest  thou  me  ?  He  saith  to  him.  Yea,  Lord, 
thou  knowest  that  I  love  thea  He  saith  to  him.  Feed  my  lambs. 
He  saith  to  him  the  third  time,  Siitaon  son  of  John,  lovest  thou  me  ? 
Peter  was  grieved  because  he  had  said  to  him  the  third  time,  Lovest 
thou  me  ?  And  he  said  to  him.  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things :  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  thee.  He  saith  to  him.  Feed  my  sheep."  (a) 
Our  Lord  by  this  declaration  constitutes  St  Peter  and  his  suc- 
cessors the  vicars  and  pastors  of  his  Church,  and  then  imparts  to  St 
Peter  even  more  joyful  intelligence  than  this ;  for  he  tells  him  that 
the  death  of  the  martyr  was  to  be  his  privilege ;  "  Amen,  amen,  I 
say  to  thee:  when  thou  wast  younger,  thou  didst  gird  thyself,  and 
didst  walk  where  thou  wouldst ;  but  when  thou  shalt  be  old,  thou 
■halt  stretch  forth  thy  hands,  and  another  shall  gird  thee,  and  lead 
thee  whither  thou  wooldst  not"  (b) 


(u)  S.  JotiP,  uL  1-17. 


(i)  St.  John,  xxi.  II. 


Uri  or  IT.  PBTBB. 


gone  a 
lorning 
)W  him 
|r  meat, 
lip  and 
ley  cast 
:>t  able 
e  Lord 
soon  as 
its  him* 
;he  ship 
i  there- 
of the 
Eiud  full 
en  tells 
they  sit 
ler  with 
himself 
le  more 
it  I  love 
1  again, 
I,  Lord, 
lambs, 
lou  me  ? 
,  Lovest 
s:  thou 
>p."  (a) 
lis  sue* 
1)8  to  St. 
im  that 
amen,  I 
elf,  and 
d,  thou 
ndlead 


After  the  ascension  of  our  Lord,  the  apostles  returned  to  Jemsfti 
lem,  and,  assembled  there,  they  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  successor 
to  Judas.  There  8t  Poter  exercises  his  first  act  of  jurisdiction,  by 
presiding  at  the  council  that  was  held  when  Matthias  was  elected  aa 
apostle. 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  apostles  receive,  in  the  upper  room 
where  our  Lord  had  instituted  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  (a)  Some  time  after  this  St.  Peter  consecrates  St.  James  Bish* 
op  of  Jerusalem ;  and  in  the  year  84  celebrates  another  council,  in 
the  upper  room.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  Jews  had  accused 
the  apostles  of  being  full  of  new  wine.  St  Peter  refutes  their  cal< 
umnies,  and  shows  it  was  only  a  fulfilment  of  the  predictions  of  the 
prophets ;  and  so  powerful  is  the  sermon  he  preaches  on  the  resur- 
rection and  ascension  of  our  Loi'd,  that  three  thousand  persons  are 
converted  and  baptized.  A  few  days  after  this  St.  Peter  and  St 
John  go  up  to  the  temple,  where  they  meet,  at  the  gate  of  the  tem« 
pie  which  is  called  Beautiful,  a  man  who  was  lame  from  his  mother's 
womb,  and  who  was  laid  every  day  in  the  temple.  He  asks  St 
Peter  and  St.  John  for  alms.  St  Peter  tells  him  that  he  has  no 
silver  or  gold  to  give  him,  but  bids  him,  "  in  the  name  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  arise  and  walk.'*  (b)  The  people,  astonished  at  beholding 
the  wonderful  miracle,  assemble  in  Solomon's  porch,  where  St.  Peter 
addresses  them  with  such  wonderful  effect,  that  five  thousand  per> 
sons  were  converted.  With  his  shadow  many  extraordinary  cures 
are  performed,  and  in  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  he  performed 
many  miracles. 

The  Holy  Ghost  had  wrought  a  great  change  in  him,  for  to 
his  courage  and  boldness  are  united  humility,  gentleness  and  pa- 
tience ;  always  ready  to  yield  to  others,  he  humbles  himself  to  every 
Ever  desirous  of  being  the  servant  of  all,  he  never  seems  to 


one. 


exercise  the  authority  with  which  he  is  invested  unless  when  the 
duty  of  God  requires  it 

The  Jewish  priests  and  the  Sadducees,  jealous  of  the  conversions 
which  St  Peter  had  efiected,  and  of  the  miracles  which  he  wrought, 
cause  him  to  be  imprisoned  along  with  St  John.    On  the  next  day 


(a)  Acts,  u.  1. 


(b)  Acts,  uL  ^10. 


9  TBS  TBACnilfOII,  AOTt|  AVD 

they  are  brought  before  the  princes,  the  ancients,  and  the  scribei, 
who  are  assembled  in  council,  together  with  the  high*pri«st 
Annas  and  his  kinsmen.  There  St  Peter  declares  to  them,  **  t  Mt  it 
is  by  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  that  this  man  standeth  before 
them  whole.**  As  the  assembled  Sanhedrim  could  not  deny  the 
miracle,  they  call  in  St  Peter  and  St  John,  and  chai'ge  them  not  to 
apeak  nor  teach  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  This  the  apostles  refuse  to 
do,  and  say  to  them :  "  If  it  be  just  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  hear  you 
rather  than  God  judge  ye,  for  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which 
we  have  seen  and  heard.*'  (a)  The  apostles  were  then  set  at  liberty. 
Those  who  had  become  Christians  had  their  attention  fixf'il  ua 
the  great  blessings  which  they  enjoyed  on  becoming  m^'mbers  of 
the  Church.  Worldly  riches  and  honors  had  no  value  in  their 
sight ;  therefore  the  wealthy  amongst  them  sold  their  possessions, 
and  laid  the  money  for  which  they  sold  them  at  the  apostW  feet-— 
who  would  make  an  equal  distribution  of  tho  different  sums  thus 
presented  to  them,  amongst  the  members  of  the  Church  who  were 
in  need  of  it.  Amongst  the  different  perGons  who  sold  their  prop- 
erty, there  was  a  certain  man  named  Ananias,  and  Saphira  his  wife ; 
they  sold  their  field  for  a  certain  price,  (and,  by  fraud,  kept  back 
part  of  it,)  and  laid  it  down  at  the  apostles'  feet — the  wife  being 
conscious  of  this.  Peter,  as  the  chief  of  the  apoRtles,  deemed  it  to 
be  his  duty  to  check  this  fraudulent  mode  of  acting,  in  the  infancy 
of  the  Church,  and  he  asks  Ananias  why  Satan  had  tempted  his 
heart,  that  he  should  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  an<l  keep  back,  through 
fitiud,  part  of  the  price  of  the  field,  and  he  show^  liini  the  nature  of 
the  fraud  he  had  committed:  "  Whilst  it  reniaino'l.  \,''r  "i  not  ihme 
own  ?  and  being  sold,  was  it  not  in  thy  power  i  Why  hast  thou 
conceived  this  thing  in  thy  heart  ?  Thou  hast  not  lied  to  men  but 
to  God.''{b)  A.S  soon  as  Ananias  had  heard  these  words,  he  fell  down 
and  ga\  e  \\T}  the  ghost.  The  young  men  who  were  present  remove 
his  body,  aua  ta'«  .a  it  or.t  and  bury  it  About  three  houra  after  this 
evQut  ii*d  tal;.en  place,  his  wife,  not  knowing  what  had  happened, 
came  in,  and  St  Peter  asks  her  whether  she  had  sold  the  field  for  so 
much ;  and  she  says,  in  reply,  that  she  had  sold  it  for  this  sum.  St 


(«)  Aeto.  ir.  If,  SO. 


(»)  Acts,  y.  4. 


uri  or  IT.  Pim.  f 

Peter  says,  in  reply  to  her ;  ^  Why  have  yon  agreed  together  to 
tempt  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  ?  Behold,  the  feet  of  those  who  hare 
buried  thy  husbau  1  are  at  the  door,  and  they  shall  carry  thee  out"  (a) 
And  she  immediately  fell  down  dead  before  his  feet ;  and  the 
young  men  who  had  carried  her  husband  to  the  grave  perform  the 
same  office  for  her,  and  bury  her  beside  her  husband.  This  dr- 
oumstance  produced  a  good  effect  upon  the  whole  Churoh|  and  upon 
all  that  heard  of  these  things. 


m 


m 


CHAPTER  IL 

mi     AFOtTLIS     BRO0OIIT     BBFORB     TBI     OOVBOIL.— PmUOBirT  OOVfflBt    09   eAMAr* 
L»L. — ST.  PKTXR   AT  JOPPI. — HB   1IBBT8  WITH   OORBBUCB. 

The  apostles  had  given  proofs  of  their  divine  mission  by  working 
a  great  number  of  miracles.  These  circumstances  excited  the  indig- 
nation of  the  high-priest  and  of  the  other  members  of  the  Sanhe- 
drim, especially  as  many  sick  persons  had  been  healed  by  the  mere 
shadow  of  St.  Peter  passing  over  them ;  and  persons  afflicted  with 
diseases  were  brought  from  the  neighboring  cities,  and  were  cured 
of  their  diseases  by  the  miraculous  powers  which  the  apostles  exer- 
cised. Such  as  were  troubled  with  unclean  spirits  were  also  healed. 
TIk;  high-priest  and  the  Sadducees  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  this, 
and  they  therefore  laid  hands  on  the  apostles,  and  put  them  in  the 
common  prison.  But  the  angel  of  the  Lord  by  night  opened  the 
doors  of  the  prison,  and  leading  them  out  bid  them  go  to  the  tern* 
plfc,  «nd  preach  there  "  all  the  words  of  this  life."  (b)  The  officers  in 
tbs  Tiiorning  are  much  astonished,  at  finding  the  prison  shut  but  no 
li^tin  within.  Whilst  the  chief  priest  and  those  assembled  with  him 
are  in  douU*  as  to  what  had  become  of  them,  a  certain  man  comes 
and  tells  them  that  the  men  whom  they  put  in  prison  are  teaching 
the  people  in  the  temple.    The  magistrates,  when  they  heard  thii^ 


(«)  Aoti,  T.  f  • 


H)  Aetoy  T.  It. 


10 


THB  TXA0HINO8,  AOTS,  AJSJ} 


go  and  bring  them  without  violence — for  they  fear  the  people,  lest 
they  should  be  stewed.  When  the  apostles  are  brought  before  the 
council,  and  the  high-priest  reminds  them  of  the  charge  that  had  al- 
feady  been  given  them  that  they  should  not  teach  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  and  how  they  had  disobeyed  this  command,  and  had  filled 
Jerusalem  with  their  doctrine,  and  would  bring  the  blood  of  this 
man"  (for  so  the  high-priest  calls  our  Lord)  upon  them — to  this  St. 
Peter,  in  the  name  of  the  apostles,  replies, "  that  we  ought  to  obey 
God  rather  than  man;"  (a)  and  he  then  openly  charges  the  high-priest 
and  those  assembled  with  him,  as  having  put  to  death  Jesus,  whom 
God  had  now  raised  up,  and  exalted  with  his  right  hand  to  give 
t)enitence  to  Israel  and  remission  of  sins ;  and  he  further  adds,  that 
he  and  the  other  apostles  are  witnesses  of  these  things,  and  "  the 
Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  had  given  to  all  who  obey  him."  (b)  The 
high-priest  and  the  assembly,  when  they  had  heard  these  things, 
were  cut  to  the  heart,  and  but  for  the  prudent  counsel  of  Gamaliel, 
would  have  put  them  to  death — who  told  them  that,  if  it  be  the 
design  or  work  of  men,  the  preacLing  of  the  apostles  will  fall  to 
nothing ;  but  that  if  it  be  of  God,  they  could  not  destroy  it  The 
council  hearken  to  the  words  of  Gamaliel,  and  scourge  the  apostles, 
and  charge  them  not  to  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  after  this 
dismiss -them.  The  apostles  leave  them,  rejoicing  that  they  were 
deemed  worthy  to  suffer  reproach  for  the  name  of  their  Lord  and 
Master ;  and  they  continue  their  preaching  and  teaching  from  house 
to  house. 

The  number  of  those  who  joined  the  Church  increased  from  day 
to  day,  and  a  great  number  of  the  priests  embrace  the  faith.  This 
wondrous  triumph  of  the  Church,  and  the  progress  which  religion  is 
making,  stir  up  the  hatred  and  the  enmity  of  its  opponents  against 
the  faithful,  and  a  great  persecution  is  raised  against  the  Church. 
Si  Stephen  is  stoned  and  put  to  death,  and  all  the  faithful,  except 
the  apostles,  are  dispersed  through  the  countries  of  Judea  and  Sa 
maria.  In  the  latter  city,  Philip,  one  of  the  seven  deacons,  had  con- 
verted many  by  his  preaching  and  had  performed  many  miracles. 
St  Peter  and  St  John  go  down  to  Samaria  to  strengthen  the  faith 


(«)  Acts,  T.  29. 


(»)  Aete,  T.  It. 


LIFE  OF  ST.  PETEB. 


11 


Bople,  lest 
before  the 
lat  had  al- 
B  name  of 
had  filled 
a  of  "this 
-to  this  St. 
it  to  obey 
ligh-priest 
ms,  whom 
nd  to  give 
adds,  that 
and  "  the 
(h)    The 
!se  things, 
Gamaliel, 
'  it  be  the 
rill  fall  to 
yit    The 
e  apostles, 
after  this 
they  were 
Lord  and 
rom  house 

from  day 
ith.  This 
religion  is 
its  against 
le  Church, 
fill,  except 
ea  and  S» 
3,  had  con* 
f  miracles. 
1  the  faith 


of  the  converts,  by  administeiing  to  them  the  sacrament  of  con 
firmation.  Amongst  those  whom  Philip  had  converted  was  a  per 
son  named  Simon  Magus;  He  had  been  a  magician,  and  had  se- 
duced the  people  of  Samaria,  giving  himself  out  to  be  some  great 
person.  When  he  saw  the  number  of  men  and  women  that  had 
been  baptized  by  Philip,  he  also  believes  and  is  baptized.  When 
he  beholds  that  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  apostles  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  given,  he  offers  to  give  money  to  St.  Peter  if  he 
should  confer  the  same  power  on  him,  and  enable  him  to  impart 
the  Holy  Ghost  on  whomsoever  he  would  lay  his  hands.  St.  Peter 
replies  to  his  request  in  the  following  words :  "  May  thy  money 
perish  with  thee,  because  thou  hast  esteemed  the  gift  of  God  to  be 
purchased  with  money.  Thou  hast  no  part  nor  lot  in  this  matter, 
for  thy  heart  is  not  right  in  the  sight  of  God.  Do  penance,  there- 
fore, for  this  thy  wickedness,  and  pray  to  God,  that  perhaps  this 
thought  of  thy  heart  may  be  forgiven  thee,  for  I  see  thou  art  in  th» 
gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bonds  of  iniquity."  (a) 

Peace  is  once  more  restored  to  the  Church,  throughout  Judea, 
Galilee,  and  Samaria.  St.  Peter,  in  the  course  of  his  missionary 
labors,  and  the  apostolical  superintendence  which,  as  prince  of  the 
apostles,  he  bestowed  on  the  Church,  visits  Lydda,  where  he  finds 
a  certain  man  named  Eneas,  lying  on  his  bed  for  eight  years,  who 
was  ill  of  the  palsy.  St.  Peter  says  to  him :  "  Eneas,  the  Lord 
Jesus  healeth  thee :  arise,  and  make  thy  bed ;  and  immediately  he 
arose."  (b)  The  apostle  also  visits  Joppe,  where  a  certain  disciple 
named  Tabitha,  who  was  full  of  good  works  and  alms-deeds,  be- 
comes sick  and  dies.  When  they  had  laid  her  out  in  an  upper 
chamber,  the  disciples  sent  to  Lydda  for  St.  Peter,  who,  when  he 
was  arrived,  is  brought  by  the  faithful  into  the  upper  chamber 
where  the  good  woman  was  laid  out.  There  St.  Peter  finds  assem- 
bled all  the  widows  weeping,  who  show  him  the  garments  whicli 
Dorcas  (for  so  also  the  good  woman  was  called)  had  made  for  them. 
St.  Peter,  having  put  them  all  out,  kneels  down  and  prays,  antl 
turning  to  the  body  he  said :  "  Tabitha,  arise ;"  (c)  and  she  opens  her 
eyes  and  sits  up ;  and  he  gives  her  his  hand  and  raises  her  ud,  and 


(a)  Acts,  viii.  19-22. 


(6)  Acts,  ix.  34. 


(c)  Acts,  ix.  40* 


u 


m  VMkOHnxWt  aotB)  aud 


m-r 


ife 


presents  W  alive  to  the  saints  and  the  widows.  This  is  made 
known  through  all  Joppe,  and  many  believe  on  the  Lord. 

St  Peter  sojourns  many  days  at  Joppe,  in  the  house  of  Simon,  a 
tanner,  for  there  the  Lord  had  wondrous  work  for  him  to  perform. 
Whilst  he  was  staying  at  Joppe,  St.  Peter,  on  a  certain  day,  about  the 
sixth  hour,  goes  up  into  the  higher  parts  of  the  house  to  pray,  and 
whilst  they  are  preparing  something  for  him  to  eat,  he  falls  into  an 
ecstasy,  and  he  sees  heaven  opened,  and  a  certain  vessel  descending, 
as  it  were  a  great  sheet  let  down  by  the  four  comers  from  heaven 
to  earth;  in  this  are  all  manner  of  four-footed  beasts  and  creeping 
things  of  the  earth  and  fowls  of  the  air,  and  he  hears  a  voice  saying 
to  him :  "  Arise,  Peter,  kill  and  eat ;"  (a)  and  Peter,  in  reply  to  this, 
says:  "Far  be  it  from  me, Lord,  for  I  have  never  eaten  any  com- 
mon and  unclean  thing.''  Again,  a  second  time,  he  hears  the  same 
voice  speaking  to  him,  and  saying :  "  That  which  God  hath  purified, 
do  not  thou  call  common."  (b)  This  was  done  three  times.  Whilst 
St.  Peter  is  doubting  what  this  means,  and  what  could  be  the  na- 
ture of  the  vision,  certain  pereons  come  from  Cornelius,  a  centurion 
who  dwelt  at  Gesarea — he  was  a  religious  man  and  feared  God — 
in  compliance  vrith  directions  which  had  been  given  him  in  a  vision, 
to  request  him  to  come  with  them  to  Gesarea.  St.  Peter  again 
hears  the  Spirit  addressing  him  and  saying :  "  Behold,  three  men 
seek  thee.  Arise,  therefore;  go  down,  and  go  with  them  doubting 
nothing,  for  I  have  sent  them."  (c)  St.  Peter  goes  down  to  them, 
and  they  tell  him  how  that  Gornelius  had  received  answer  of  a 
holy  angel  to  send  for  him  into  his  house,  and  to  hear  words  from 
him.  St  Peter  lodges  them  in  the  house  for  that  night,  and  on  the 
day  following  he  goes  with  them,  some  of  those  from  Joppe  accom- 
panying him. 

When  St  Peter  arrives  at  Gesarea,  he  meets  Cornelius,  and  goes 
in  with  him  to  his  house,  and  finds  many  of  the  fi-iends  of  Gornelius 
assembled  there ;  and  he  tells  them  that  they  knew  how  abominable 
a  thing  it  was  for  a  man  who  was  a  Jew  to  keep  company  with  any 
person  of  other  nations ;  but  that  God  had  shown  him  how  he  was 
to  call  nothing  common  or  unclean ;  therefore  he  came  when  he  was 


eent 
himl 

agoJ 
and 

nelij 

sighl 


(«)  Acta,  z.  18. 


(&)  Acts,  z.  14,  15. 


(«)  Acta,  z.  20. 


UFB  OF  ST.  PBTBR. 


It 


[goes 

slius 

lable 

any 
I  was 

was 


eent  for.  He  desires  also  to  know  tlie  causb  of  their  sending  for 
him.  To  this  Cornelius  replies  in  the  following  words:  "Four  days 
ago,  until  this  hour,  I  was  praying  in  my  house  at  ^the  ninth  hour, 
and  behold  a  man  stood  before  me  in  white  apparel,  and  said :  Cor- 
nelius, thy  prayer  is  heard,  and  thy  alms  are  remembered  in  the 
sii^ht  of  God.  Send,  therefore,  to  Joppe,  and  call  hither  Simon,  who 
is  surnamed  Peter ;  he  lodgeth  in  the  house  of  one  Simon,  a  tanner, 
by  the  aea-side.  Immediately,  therefore,  I  sent  to  thee,  and  thou 
hast  done  well  in  coming.  Now,  therefore,  ajl  we  are  present  in 
thy  sight,  to  hear  all  things  whatsoever  are  commanded  thee  by  the 
Lord."  (a) 

St.  Peter,  in  reply  to  the  request  made  to  him  by  Cornelius  and 
his  friends,  said  to  them :  "  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter 
of  persons ;  but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  him,  and  worketh 
justice,  is  acceptable  to  him."  (i)  He  then  proceeds  to  tell  them 
how  the  word  of  God  had  been  published  through  all  Judea,  and 
how  our  Lord  had  gone  about  doing  good,  and  healing  all  who  were 
oppressed  by  the  devil,  and  that  he  and  the  other  apostles  were  the 
witnesses  of  these  things,  as  they  were  also  of  his  resurrection.  He 
then  declares  to  them  how  they  were  commanded  to  preach  to  the 
people,  and  to  testify  that  our  Lord  hath  been  appointed  to  be 
Judge  of  the  living  and  of  the  dead. 

Whilst  St.  Peter  was  yet  speaking  these  words,  the  Holy  Ghost 
fell  upon  all  them  that  were  hearing  the  word.  This  caused  much 
astonishment  amongst  the  members  of  the  Church  who  had  been 
Jews ;  for  they  wondered  that  the  gi'ace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  also 
poured  out  upon  the  Gentiles,  and  that  they  should  hear  them  speak 
with  tongues  and  magnify  God. 

St.  Peter  then  asked  them :  "  Can  any  man  forbid  watei;  that 
these  should  not  be  baptized,  who  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as 
well  as  we  ?"  (c)  And  he  then  commanded  them  to  be  baptized  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Thus  was  the  Vicar  of  Christ  deputed 
to  receive  the  Gentiles  within  the  fold  of  the  Church. 

Through  the  kindness  of  theEmperor  Tiberius,  who  showed  much 
favor  to  the  Church,  the  spirit  of  persecution  which  had  been  raised 


(a)  Acts,  X.  30-83.  (6)  Acts,  x.  34,  36. 


(c)  Acts,  X.  47. 


II 


14 


THX  TBA,OHIirCKB,  ▲OTI)  AHD 


against  it  ceased,  and  peace  was  at  length  restored  to  ii  The  apoB> 
ties  left  Jerusalem  to  spread  the  doctrines  of  Christianity ;  and  they 
commenced  with  Syria,  iind  with  the  countries  which  were  situated 
near  Jerusalem  and  Judea.  St.  Peter  departs  from  Judea,  and  pro 
ceeds  to  Syria,  the  capital  of  which  was  Antioch. 

St.  Jerome,  Eusebius,  and  the  ancient  writers  agree  in  their  state> 
ments  respecting  Antioch  being  the  first  episcopal  see  of  St.  Peter, 
and  that  the  apostle  governed  this  city  during  the  space  of  seven 
years. 

St.  Gregory  the  Great  informs  us  in  one  of  his  Epistles,  (a)  that 
the  faithful  were  first  called  Christians  in  this  city.  It  was  but 
just  that  the  prince  of  the  apostles  should  be  its  first  pastor.  Dur- 
ing the  period  that  St.  Peter  ruled  the  see  of  Antioch,  he  was  con- 
stant in  making  missionary  tours  into  other  countries,  that  he  might 
convert  all  who  desired  to  become  members  of  the  Church.  He 
preached  the  faith  to  the  Gentiles  in  the  provinces  of  Pontus,  Gala- 
tia,  Cappadocia,  and  Bithynia. 

About  the  year  37,  St.  Peter  was  visited  by  St.  Paul  in  Jerusa- 
lem, who  spent  fifteen  days  with  him,  and  acquaints  him  with  his 
conversion,  and  acknowledges  him  to  be  the  supreme  head  of  the 
Church. 

In  the  divisions  which  the  apostles  made  of  the  different  places 
where  they  proposed  to  preach  the  gospel,  St.  Peter  selected  the 
city  of  Rome,  the  capital  of  the  world,  as  the  principal  theatre  of 
his  apostolic  labors.  This  city  the  prince  of  darkness  had  caused 
to  become  the  centre  of  superstition  and  error.  Here  wickedness 
reigned  in  its  basest  forms,  and  superatition  exercised  its  influence 
by  the  woi-ship  of  false  gods.  Rome  had  liecorae  the  centre  of 
power  and  of  all  earthly  authority,  being  raised  to  this  high  posi- 
tion in  accordance  with  the  designs  of  Providence,  who  had  desired 
that  through  these  moans  the  Church  might  be  propagated,  and  the 
gospel  spread  throughout  the  world.  It  was  the  design  of  our 
blessed  Lord  to  plant  the  rock  on  which  his  Church  was  founded  in 
the  metropolis  of  the  world,  in  order  that  the  faith  might  be  spread 
with  the  greater  rapidity,  and  with  greater  ease,  amongst  the  na*. 


tic 
ai 

th^ 
an] 
of 


(a)  Lib.  vii.,  Epist.  40. 


LIFE  OF  ST.  ^ETEB. 


15 


TheapoB> 

and  they 

e  situated 

,  and  proi 

beir  state* 

St.  Peter, 

of  seven 

,  (a)  that 
;  was  but 
or.  Dur- 
was  con- 
he  might 
rch.  He 
;us,  Gala- 

a  Jerusa* 
nth  his 
d  of  the 

t  places 

Bted  the 

eatre  of 

caused 

cedness 

ifluence 

ntre  of 

h  posi- 

desired 

a,nd  the 

of  our 

ided  in 

spread 

;he  na<. 


tlons  who  were  subject  to  the  dominion  of  that  city,  which  was 
afterwards  to  be  called  the  eternal  city. 

The  many  difficulties  which  surrounded  the  great  object  which 
the  apostle  had  in  view  only  increased  his  zeal,  and  made  him 
anxious  to  perform  greater  acts  of  devotion  in  behalf  of  the  Church 
of  which  he  was  the  supreme  head. 


■:-:;^^i^'m.-y^       CHAPTER  III.    ;.':-J:i,:  :-:•-' 

..  ,  <jw*.  ,■  ',   ;•    ■  ■  ■  ■■■'•",   I 
MARSaiVS'B    HOBTILITT   TO   POPE   JOHN    XXII. — HIS   ASBKRTION  THAT  ST.    PBTBB  HID 
NEVER   BEEN   AT   ROME. — TESTIMONY   PROVINO  THAT  HE   HAD. 

St.  Peter  having  arrived  at  the  capital  of  the  Koman  empire,  and 
having,  as  it  were,  by  his  presence  taken  pt)8se88ion  of  the  city  of  Rome, 
was  faithful  to  the  trust  which  had  been  committed  to  him,  and 
with  zeal  and  diligence  preached  the  gospel  to  all  who  were  willing 
to  receive  its  powerful  influences.  On  his  way  there  he  had  planted 
the  faith  in  diflferent  places:  at  Pisa,  in  Sicily,  and  at  Naples.  In 
the  latter  city  he  is  said  to  have  consecrated  its  first  bishop,  having 
said  mass  on  an  altar  which  was  erected  on  the  spot  where  after* 
wards  was  built  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  ad  Aram. 

The  year  40,  or,  as  some  authors  affirm,  the  year  45,  is  fixed  as 
the  date  of  the  arrival  of  the  apostle  in  the  city  of  Rome ;  who  also 
state  that  on  the  18th  of  January  he  established  his  see  there,  hav* 
ing  translated  it  from  Antioch.  Before  the  fourteenth  century  no 
person,  however  hostile  he  was  to  the  holy  see,  had  ventured  to 
deny  that  St  Peter  was  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  had  dwelt  for  many 
years  in  the  city  of  the  Caesars.  Marsilius,  of  Padua,  was  the  first 
person  who  advanced  such  a  statement  as  this.  On  the  death  of 
Henry  VII.,  Louis  Duke  of  Bavaria  claimed  the  Bavarian  crown, 
to  the  exclusion  of  Frederic,  the  son  of  Albert  I.,  of  Austria.  The 
Pontiff  John  XXII.,  having  espoused  the  cause  of  Frederic,  Marsi* 
lius,  who  was  a  firm  supporter  of  Louis,  offered  every  indignity  to 
the  holy  see.  He  carried  his  hostility  so  far,  that  he  denied  all  OOB* 
neGtion  between  St.  Peter  and  the  see  of  Borne.  St.  Feteri  he  laidi 


16 


THB  TBAOHUfOB,  AOTB,  AMD 


had  never  been  at  Rome,  and,  consequently,  that  John  XXII^  who 
claimed  supremacy  over  the  Catholic  world,  as  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter,  the  first  Bishop  of  Rome,  claimed  that  supremacy  without 
any  lawful  grounds,  and  consequently  he  was  not  the  supreme  pon* 
tifi:  Errors  against  the  plainest  facts  of  history  were  followed  by 
eiTors  against  the  faith  of  the  Church,  and  as  the  number  of  those 
who  depaiiied  from  the  faith  increased  they  adopted  the  state- 
ments of  Marsilius.  Wickliffe,  and  after  him  Luther,  joined  in 
making  these  false  statements.  Calvin  seems  also  unwilling  to 
allow  the  fact  of  St.  Peter's  ever  having  been  at  Rome,  for  the  ex- 
tent of  his  admissions  respecting  it  amount  to  this :  "that  there  is 
nothing  repugnant  in  the  statement."  Since  the  days  of  Calvin 
there  have  been  many  writers  who  have  maintained  that  St  Peter 
was  never  at  Rome ;  but  the  great  and  learned  men  of  every  creed 
and  of  every  country  have  ever  zealously  vindicated  the  truth  of 
history,  and  have  been  zealous  in  their  maintaining  the  connection 
of  St.  Peter  with  the  see  of  Rome.  The  result  of  this  has  been,  that 
the  fact  of  St  Peter's  residence  in  the  eternal  city  has  been  estab- 
lished on  a  firmer  basis  than  almost  any  other  circumstance  con* 
nected  with  the  history  of  that  time. 

Cave,  Pearson,  Whiston,  Young,  Blondel,  and  others,  all  authors 
of  eminence,  and  opposed  to  the  supremacy  of  the  Holy  See,  have 
written  against  the  system  of  Marsilius,  and  have  united  with  the  ; 
most  eminent  Catholic  writers  in  showing  the  fallacies  contained  in 
the  writings  of  those  who  suppose  that  St.  Peter  never  had  been 
at  Rome.  ;::!-■■"  ''"...■''.>'—■'"- ■  ^■' >»';'';•■;_ -: 

It  may  prove  both  interesting,  in  connection  with  a  life  of  the  ' 
apostle,  and  also  instructive,  to  enter  into  a  consideration  of  this 
matter.    To  do  this  effectually  it  will  be  necessary  to  divide  the 
subject  into  distinct  heads.  In  the  first  place,  the  testimony  of  some 
of  the  leading  writere  of  the  four  or  five  first  centuries,  who  have 
left  us  a  record  of  their  opinions  respecting  this  matter,  will  be  ad-  - 
duced ;  in  the  second  place,  the  causes  will  be  assigned  which  are 
said  to  have  drawn  the  great  apostle  to  Rome ;  and,  in  the  third  ; 
place,  some  facts  of  a  local  character  will  be  stated,  and  which  can- 
not be  explained  by  any  other  means  than  by  allowing  the  resi- 
dence of  the  apostle  in  the  eternal  city. 


<■'- 


UFB  OF  BT.  PBTIB. 


ir 


lXII,  who 
>ssorof  St 
y  without 
•reine  pon- 
ilowed  by 
T  of  those 
the  state- 
joined  in 
billing  to 
>r  the  ex- 
it there  is 
)f  Calvin 
St  Peter 
ery  creed 

truth  of 
tnnection 
een,  that 
m  estab- 
nce  con- 
authors 
36,  have 
(rith  the 
lined  in 

I  been 

of  the 
of  this 
de  the 
»f  some 
o  have 
bead- 
!ch  are 

third 
hcan- 
eresi* 


Cave,  a  writer  opposed  to  the  supremacy  of  the  Holy  See,  has 
well  observed,  that  if  there  be  one  fact  of  history  which  is  affirmed 
continuously,  it  is  this  of  St  Peter's  residence  in  the  holy  city. 
Should  you  reject  this,  the  only  conclusion  you  can  come  to  is, 
that  history  is  a  mighty  conspiracy  against  truth,  and  we  must  be- 
come skeptical  with  respect  to  all  matters  which  are  recorded 
in  it. 

ITie  first  testimony  which  shall  be  adduced  are  the  words  of 
Eusebius,  in  which  he  refers  to  the  statement  of  Papias,  and 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  both  of  whom  lived  in  the  second  century: 
"  Under  the  reign  of  Claudius,  by  the  benign  and  gracious  provi- 
dence of  God,  Peter,  that  powerful  and  great  apostle,  who,  by  his 
courage,  took  the  lead  of  all  the  I'est,  was  conducted  to  Rome, 
against  the  pest  of  mankind,  [Simon  Magus.]  He  was  a  noble 
general  [appointed]  of  God,  armed  with  heavenly  weapons ;  he 
brought  the  precious  merchandise  of  intellectual  light  from  the 
east  to  the  dwellers  in  the  west,  announcing  the  light  itself,  and 
salutary  doctrine  of  the  soul,  the  proclamation  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  divine  word  having  been  thus  established  among  the 
Romans,  the  power  of  Simon  was  soon  extinguished  and  destroyed, 
together  with  the  man.  So  greatly,  however,  did  the  spirit  of  piety 
enlighten  the  minds  of  Peter's  hearers,  that  it  was  not  sufficient 
to  hear  but  once,  nor  to  receive  the  unwritten  doctrine  of  the  gospel 
of  God,  but  they  persevered,  in  every  variety  of  entreaties,  to  solicit 
Mark,  as  the  companion  of  St.  Peter,  and  whose  Gospel  we  have^ 
that  he  should  leave  them  a  monument  of  the  doctrine  thus  orally 
communicated,  in  writing;  nor  did  they  cease  their  solicitations 
until  they  had  prevailed  with  the  man ;  and  thus  become  the  means 
of  that  history  which  is  called  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Mark. 
They  say,  also,  that  the  apostle,  [Peter,]  having  ascertained  what 
was  done,  by  the  revelation  of  the  Spirit,  was  delighted  with  the 
zealous  ardor  expressed  by  these  men,  and  that  the  history  obtained 
his  authority  for  the  purpose  of  being  read  in  the  churches.  This 
account  is  given  by  Clement,  in  the  sixth  book  of  his  Institutions, 
whose  testimony  is  corroborated  by  that  of  Papias,  Bishop  of 
Hieropolis."  (a) 

(a)  EnsebUns,  1.  ii.  o.  14,  15. 


18 


THB  TSAOHOrOS,  ACTS,  AlTD 


The  Papias  here  spoken  of  flourished  about  the  year  118.  Prol> 
ably  he  was  the  disciple  of  the  apostle  St.  John,  and  the  friend  of 
St  Polycarp.  What  we  know  of  him  for  certain  is  this,  that  he 
was  most  diligent  in  collecting  all  kinds  of  facts  regarding  the  apos- 
tles, from  those  who  had  been  intimately  ':xquainted  with  them. 
"  If,"  he  says,  "  I  meet  with  any  one  who  had  been  a  follower  of  tht 
elders  anywhere,  I  made  it  a  point  to  inquire  what  were  the  declA> 
rations  of  the  elders,  what  was  said  by  Andrew,  Peter,  or  Philip, 
what  by  Thomas,  James,  John,  Matthew,  or  any  other  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  our  Lord ;  what  was  said  by  Aristion,  and  the  presbyter 
John,  disciples  of  the  Lord ;  for  I  do  not  think  that  I  derived  so 
much  benefit  from  books  as  from  the  living  voice  of  those  tht  t  are 
still  surviving."  (a) 

This  same  century  supplies  us  with  three  other  ecclesiastical 
writers  who  have  referred  to  the  residence  of  St  JPeter  at  Rome. 
Gains,  who  visited  Kome  during  the  pontificate  of  Zephjrrinus,  thus 
refers,  in  his  Disputations  with  Proclus,  to  the  tombs  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul :  "  I  can  show  you  the  trophies  of  the  apostles,  for,  if 
you  will  go  to  the  Vatican,  or  to  the  Ostian  road,  you  will  find  the 
trophies  of  those  who  have  laid  the  foundation  of  this  [the  Koman] 
Church."  (b) 

And  the  illustrious  prelate  St.  Dionysius  of  Corinth,  who  be- 
came bishop  in  1 70,  in  his  address  to  the  Romans,  speaking  of  the 
martyrdom  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  says :  "  Thus  likewise  you,  by 
means  of  this  admonition,  have  mingled  the  flourishing  seed  that 
had  been  planted  by  Peter  and  Paul  at  Rome  and  Corinth,  for  both 
of  these  having  planted  us  at  Corinth,  likewise  instructed  us ;  and 
having  in  like  manner  taught  in  Italy,  they  suffered  martyrdom 
about  the  same  time."  (c) 

St.  Iraeneus,  a  more  learned  writer  than  any  of  those  hitherto 
cited;  and  who  was  born  aboul  the  middle  of  the  second  century, 
presents  us  with  the  following  testimonies  connected  with  this  sub- 
ject :  "  Matthew  produced  his  Gospel,  written  among  the  Hebrews, 
in  their  own  dialect,  whilst  Peter  and  Paul  proclaimed  the  gospel 
and  founded  the  Church  at  Rome."  (d)  He  repeats  this  testimony 

(o)  EnMb.  1.  iii.  o.  89.        (b)  lb.  1.  ii.  c.  25.        (c)  lb.         (d)  lb.  1.  r.  o.  8. 


LIFI  OF  ST.  PBTBR. 


It 


In  his  famous  work  against  heresies,  in  the  following  ms :  "  But 
as  it  would  be  a  very  long  task  to  enumerate  in  such  a  volume  as 
this,  the  successions  of  all  the  churches,  pointing  out  the  tradition 
which  is  the  greatest,  and  most  ancient,  and  universally  known 
Church,  founded  and  constituted  at  Home,  by  the  two  most  glorious 
apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  derives  from  the  apostles,  and  that  faith 
announced  to  all  men,  which,  through  the  succession  of  [her]  bish- 
ops, has  come  down  to  us.  We  confound  all  those  who  in  any  way 
assemble  otherwise  than  as  behooveth  them."  (a) 

The  establishment  of  the  Church  of  Home,  through  the  ministry 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  is  spoken  of  here  again  as  a  fact  beyond 
question.  That  Church  was  most  univereally  known ;  its  origin  was 
best  investigated  and  established,  and  this  is  the  result  of  the  in- 
quiry :  St.  Peter  had  been  at  Rome,  and  had  founded  the  Church 
there.  -■:-"^:  -^i  ■"'..-.,   .' ...'/-^  :.■■■.  ..-^ '■■'■■  ^y 

The  third  century  offers  us  the  voluminous  writings  of  the  first 
African  ecclesiastical  author,  TertuUian.  Over  and  over  again  he 
refers  to  St.  Peter's  founding  the  Roman  Church  and  dying  there. 
"  Come  now,  thou  who  wilt  exercise  thy  curiosity  to  better  purpose, 
run  over  the  apostolic  chairs  of  the  apostles  to  this  very  time ;  pre- 
side over  theii'  own  places  in  which  their  own  authentic  letters  are 
read,  echoing  the  voice  and  making  the  face  of  each  present.  la 
Achaia  near,  then  thou  hast  Corinth  ;  if  thou  art  not  far  from  Mace- 
donia, thou  hast  Philippi,  thou  hast  the  Thessalonians ;  if  thou  canst 
travel  into  Asia,  thou  hast  Ephesus ;  but  if  thou  art  near  Italy,  thou 
hast  Rome,  whence  an  authority  is  ready  at  hand  to  us.  Oh,  how 
happy  is  that  Church  in  which  the  apostles  have  poured  out  all 
their  doctrine  with  their  blood,  where  Peter  had  a  like  passion  with 
his  Lord,  where  Paul  is  crowned  with  an  end  like  the  Baptist, 
where  the  apostle  John  was  plunged  into  boiling  oil !"  (6) 

In  other  writings  beside  that  from  which  the  above  quotation 
has  been  made,  he  refers  constantly  to  the  planting  of  the  faith  and 
the  death  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome.  He,  like  all  the  other  authoritiBs, 
speaks  confidently,  his  words  evidently  regarding  it  as  an  acknowl- 
edged fact ;  not  a  thing  to  be  proved,  but  a  matter  of  public  no 
toriety.  ./w-:..':';  •■   .-  .',•>•  .;'■•■:  -■■•':. 


(a)  Here.  1.  iii.  c.  8. 


(b)  De  Proi.  n.  86,  81. 


90 


TBM  TMkCHaM,  AOn,  AFD 


Origen  has  left  us  the  tradition  of  former  times  relative  to  the 
oountries  assigoed  to  each  of  the  apostles  for  the  work  of  the  minift> 
try ;  speaking  of  St.  Peter  he  says :  "  Peter  appears  to  have  preach- 
ed through  Pontus,  Galatia,  Bithynia,  Gappadocia,  and  Asia,  to  the 
Jews  that  were  scattered  abroad,  who  also,  finally  coming  to  Rome, 
was  crucified,  with  his  head  downwards,  himself  having  requested 
to  suffer  in  that  way."  (a) 

Lactantius,  in  his  work  on  the  death  of  his  peroecutors,  and  also 
in  his  fourth  book  on  the  true  wisdom,  agrees  with  the  preceding 
writers.  In  the  former  work  he  states :  "  When  Nero  reigned,  Peter 
came  to  Rome,  and  having  wrought  some  miracles,  which  he  effect* 
ed  by  the  might  of  the  Almighty  power  to  this  effect  being  given  to 
him  by  him,  he  converted  many  to  justice,  and  raised  up  to  God  a 
faithful  and  enduring  temple.  When  Nero  was  informed  of  this, 
and  he  saw  that,  not  only  at  Rome  but  everywhere,  a  great  multi- 
tude day  by  day  abandoned  the  worship  of  idols  and  passed  over  to 
the  new  religion,  to  the  rejection  of  the  ancient  one,  being,  as  he 
was,  an  execrable  tyrant,  he  rushed  forward  to  destroy  the  heavenly 
temple,  and  the  first  of  all  others  persecuting  the  sarvants  of  God, 
he  affixed  Peter  to  a  cross  and  Paul  he  slew."  (b) 

Eusebius's  sentiments  with  regard  to  St.  Peter's  visit  to  Rome 
have  already  been  alluded  to.  He  repeats  the  same  remarks,  not 
once  or  twice  but  several  times,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  convince 
the  reader  that  what  he  states  was  universally  believed  to  be  trua 

St.  Peter  of  Alexandria,  who  was  martyred  a.  d.  311,  after  he 
had  governed  the  see  of  that  city  for  eleven  yeara,  speaks  of  the 
prince  of  the  apostles  in  the  following  terms :  "  Peter,  the  ruler  of 
the  apostles,  after  having  been  often  seized  and  imprisoned,  and  ig- 
nominiously  treated,  was  at  length  crucified  at  Rome."  (<?) 

St  Optatus  of  Melevis  defies  even  the  Donatists,  the  worst  and 
most  daring  enemies  of  the  Church,  to  deny  that  St.  Peter  had  been 
at  Rome:  "Thou  canst  not,  then,  deny  that  thou  knowest  that  the 
episcopal  chair  was  given,  in  the  city  of  Rome,  to  Peter  the  fint  <^ 
all  others,  in  which  Peter,  the  head  of  all  the  apostles,  sat.  .... 


(«)  BniebioB,  1.  iii.  c.  1.  '       (b)  Do  Morte  Peneo.  o.  iL  p.  528. 

(c)  Apud  Oalland,  t.  iv.,  p.  08. 


re  to  the 
)he  mini»> 
e  preach- 
na,  to  the 
to  Rome, 
requested 

),  and  also 
preceding 
led,  Peter 
he  effect- 
^  given  to 
to  God  a 
d  of  this, 
3at  multi- 
3d  over  to 
ing,  as  he 
I  heavenly 
IS  of  God, 

to  Rome 
larks,  not 
convince 
be  true, 
after  he 
s  of  the 
ruler  of 
,andig. 

lorst  and 
kad  been 
Ithat  the 
filitof 


588. 


LIFB  OF  8T.  PBTBB. 


S^ 


Peter,  therefore,  first  filled  that  pre-eminent  chair  which  is  the  first 
mark  of  the  Church.    To  hira  succeeded  Linus."  (a) 

St  Jerome,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the 
Ohurch  of  Rome,  having  I'esided  there  for  a  long  period,  and  acted 
as  secretary  to  one  of  the  pontiffs,  Pope  Damasus,  thus  mentions  St. 
Peter,  in  his  Catalogue  of  Ecclesiastical  Writers :  "  Simon  Peter, 
the  Son  of  John,  of  the  province  of  Galilee,  from  the  village  of  Beth- 
saida,  the  brother  of  Andrew  the  apostle,  and  the  prince  of  thet 
apostles,  after  his  episcopate  in  the  Church  of  Antioch,  and  his 
preaching  to  those  scattered  about,  of  the  circumcision,  who  had  be- 
lieved, in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,  goes  to 
Rome,  in  the  second  year  of  Claudius,  to  overthrow  Simon  Magus ; 
and  there  he  held  the  sacerdotal  chair  for  fiveand-twenty  years, 
down  to  the  last,  that  is  to  the  14th  year  of  Nero.  Buried  at  Rome, 
in  the  Vatican,  near  the  triumphal  way,  he  is  honored  by  the  ven- 
eration of  the  whole  city." 

Rufinus,  the  opponent  of  St.  Jerome,  is  as  clear  on  this  head  as 
any  other  writer :  "  Peter,"  he  says,  "  ruled  the  Roman  Church  for 
twenty-four  years."  (b) 

St.  Augustine  constantly  appeals  to  the  authority  of  that  chair  at 
Rome  in  which  Peter  sat :  "  ^'ay,"  he  says,  in  his  work  against  the 
Letters  of  Petilian,  "  if  all  throughout  the  world  were  such  as  you 
most  idly  slander  them,  what  ha^  the  chair  of  the  Roman  Church, 
in  which  St.  Peter  sat,  and  in  which  Auastasius  now  sits,  done  to 
this  ?"  The  east  knew  as  well  as  the  west  of  St.  Peter's  journey  to 
Rome ;  the  Christians  of  Antioch  pointed  with  pride  to  St.  Peter  as 
the  founder  of  their  see,  but  they  were  forced  to  admit  that  Anti- 
och could  not  keep  for  ever  the  prince  of  the  apostles  as  its  bishop. 

"This,"  writes  St.  John  Chrysostora,  "  is  one  of  the  privileges  of 
this  our  city,  [Antioch,]  that  it  had  at  firat  &s  teacher  the  leader  of 
the  apostles.  For  it  was  befitting  that  that  city  which,  before  the 
rest  of  the  world,  was  crowned  with  the  Christian's  name,  should 
receive  as  shepherd  the  first  of  the  apostles ;  but  after  having  had 
him  as  our  teacher,  we  did  not  retain  him,  but  surrendered  him  to 
regal  Rome.*'  (o) 

(a)  De  Schis.  Don.  ii.  2-4.  (b)  Invect.  in  S.  Hieron,  2.  p.  661. 

(c)  T.  Ill,  Home  24. 


m  THB  TBAGBOrMi  AOn,  AVP 

**  It  [Rome]  contains  within  it,"  says  Theo<loret,  "  the  tom1)s  ol 
our  coranion  tftthera  and  teacheii!!  of  the  truth,  Peter  and  Paul — 
tombs  which  illuniiiiute  the  souls  of  the  faithful.  Their  thrice- 
blessed  and  divine  twin  star  rose  indeed  in  the  east,  but  had  the 
setting  of  its  existence  by  choice  in  the  west,  and  thence  even  now 
illuminates  the  whole  world.  These  have  made  your  throne  most 
illustrious ;  this  is  the  culminating  point  to  your  blessings ;  and 
their  God  has  even  now  made  illustrious  their  throne,  having  estab* 
lished  thereon  your  Holiness,  emitting  the  rays  of  orthodoxy."  (a) 

This  letter  was  addressed  to  Pope  Leo.  Every  expression  and 
allusion  obviously  regards  the  unvarying  tradition  of  St.  Peter's 
preaching  and  dying  at  Rome.  « 

Pope  Innocent's  words  would  seem  at  first  sight  nearly  a  tran- 
script of  those  of  St  Chrysostom  which  we  have  just  adduced :  "  Ob- 
serve," he  writes,  "  that  this  [privilege]  has  been  assigned  to  this 
city  [Antioch]  not  so  much  on  account  of  its  magnificence,  as  be- 
cause it  is  known  to  have  been  the  first  see  of  the  first  apostle, 
where  the  Christian  faith  took  its  name,  and  has  had  the  honor  to 
have  held  within  it  a  most  celebrated  assembly  of  the  apostles — a 
city  which  would  not  yield  to  the  see  of  the  city  of  Rome,  save  that 
it  was  honored  by  him  but  temporarily,  whereas  this  city  [Rome] 
glories  in  having  received  him  to  herself,  and  that  he  here  consum- 
mated [his  martyrdom]."  (b)  -     ..  * 

The  testimony  of  another  pontiff  will  draw  this  first  part  of  the 
argument  to  a  conclusion. 

Pope  Gelasius  thus  clearly  and  elegantly  expresses  himself  with 
respect  to  the  prince  of  the  apostles :  "  There  were  assuredly  twelve 
apostles,  endowed  with  equal  merits  and  equal  dignity,  and  whereas 
they  all  shone  equally  with  spiritual  light,  yet  it  was  Christ's  will 
that  one  amongst  them  should  be  the  chief,  and  him  by  an  admi- 
rable dispensation  did  he  guide  to  Rome,  the  queen  of  nations,  that 
in  the  principal  c:  first  city  he  might  direct  that  first  and  principal 
[apostle]  St.  Peter."  (c) 


(a)  T.  4,  Ep.  118. 


(i)  Bp.  24.  n.  1. 


(e)  T.  10,  Galland,  p.  677. 


■moir   MAl 

THE    IaI 
•TATBMl 

It  has! 
ing  to  R| 

and  assi 
ed  with 
firm  a  fa 
and  Gau 

Accon 
Rome  fo 
which  CO 
he  went 
St.  Jerom 
diately  u] 
great  ape 
mankind, 

St  Jer 
son  of  J( 
prince  of 
to  overth 

Of  thi 
tailed  mc 
We  are  t 
veraed  in 
become  a 
the  obje( 
when  thii 
inscriptic 


l4fB  OF  av.  PBTIB. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


flMOir     llAOUa. — Rl     FROMIIBB     TO    IXT    TO    TUB    HIATIKLr    AIODM.— BTRUOK    TO 

Till    lARTH    AT    TBI     PRATBR     Ot    IT.     PBTBR. —  HIg    DBATH. BT.     AUOUBTIBB'b 

BTATBMBNT. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  one  of  the  causes  of  St.  Peter^s  go- 
ing to  Home  is  frequently  referred  to  by  the  fathers  of  the  Church, 
and  assists  much  in  elucidating  the  truth  of  the  events  connect- 
ed with  the  residence  of  St.  Peter  in  liorae,  and  seems  to  con* 
firm  a  fact  which  the  east  and  the  west,  Greece  and  Italy,  Africa 
and  Gaul,  have  believed  in  for  more  than  eighteen  centuries. 

According  to  Eusebius,  St.  Jerome,  and  Orosius,  St.  Peter  visited 
Rome  for  the  first  time  in  the  2d  year  of  Claudius  the  emperor, 
which  coiTesponds  with  the  forty-second  of  the  Christian  era ;  and 
he  went  thither,  if  we  may  believe  the  statements  of  Eusebius  and 
St.  Jerome,  in  order  to  silence  the  heresiarch  Simon  Magus :  "  Imme- 
diately under  the  reign  of  Claudius  ....  Peter,  the  powerful  and 
great  apostle  ....  was  conducted  to  Rome  against  this  pest  of 
mankind."  (a) 

St.  Jerome  also  bears  testimony  to  the  same  fact :  "  Simon,  the 
son  of  John,  ....  the  brother  of  Andrew  the  apostle,  and  the 
prince  of  the  apostles,  goes  to  Rome,  in  the  second  year  of  Claudius, 
to  overthrow  Simon  Magus."  (b) 

Of  this  infamous  man  Magus,  St.  Justin  makes  distinct  and  de- 
tailed mention  in  his  first  Apology,  addressed  to  Antonius  Pius. 
We  are  told  that  he  was  a  Samaritan,  of  the  village  of  Giton,  was 
vereed  in  magic,  and  was  so  successful  in  the  practice  of  his  art  as  to 
become  at  first  the  wonder  and  glory  of  the  Romans,  and  eventually 
the  object  of  their  adoration.  He  informs  us  farther  of  the  time 
when  this  man  flourished,  the  place  where  his  statue  was  set  up,  the 
inscription  it  bore :  "  To  Simon  the  holy  God ;"  and  he  also  telli 


*ipi»r 


(a)  Oalland,  1.  ii.  o.  14. 


(ft)  Cat.  Scrip.  Boo.  1, 


94 


THB  TlAOHIiraSi  AOn^  iJTD 


us  that  his  companion  was  an  abandoned  person  of  the  name  of 
Helena.  He  also  proceeds  to  exhort  the  emperor  to  communicate 
these  particulars  to  the  Senate  and  the  people,  in  order  "  that  if  any 
of  them  should  chance  to  be  entangled  by  the  doctrines  of  Magus, 
they  might  at  length  free  themselves  irom  the  trammels  of  error;" 
and  finally  he  prays  "  that  the  statue  raised  to  the  impostor  might 
be  taken  down."  (a) 

With  equal  distinctness  Tertullian  alludes  to  the  hei^esiarch,  and 
rebukes  the  Komans  for  adoring  such  a  worthless  man. 

Vincent  of  Lerins,  in  his  Commonitory,  refers  to  the  overthrow 
of  Magus,  who  has  been  emphatically  called  by  the  fathers,  "  the 
parent  of  heretics ;"  "  "Was  not  Simon  Magus  the  first  so  deservedly 
smitten  by  the  apostolic  sword  ?  .  .  .  .  Was  not  this  conjurer,  I  say, 
the  first  who  had  the  face  to  charge  God  the  Creator  as  the  author 
of  all  evil?"  (6) 

But  there  are  still  more  particular  statements  to  be  made  with  re- 
spect to  St  Peter  himself.  Arnobius  wrote  his  Apology  either  at 
the  close  of  the  third  or  as  early  in  the  fourth  century  as  the  year 
303.  In  the  second  book  of  this  work  the  following  words  occur : 
"  The  men  were  engaged  by  the  arts  of  King  Numa,  and  the  ancient 
superstitions  in  this  city,  [Home,]  still  they  did  not  hesitate  about 
abandoning  the  concerns  of  their  country,  and  uniting  in  the  admis- 
sion of  Christian  truth,  for  they  beheld  the  car  of  Simon  Magus  and 
his  fiery  steeds  blown  away  by  the  truth  of  Peter,  and  brought  to 
nothing  at  the  name  of  Christ."  ^^  ,  ;    f 

It  appears  that  even  the  catechumens  were  instructed  about  this 
event,  for  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  in  his  Sixth  Catechetical  Address, 
tells  them :  "  The  error  of  Simon  spreading  farther  and  farther,  the 
illustrious  pair  of  men,  Peter  and  Paul,  the  rulers  of  the  Church, 
corrected  it  by  going  thither,  who  soon  exhibited  as  dead  the  puta- 
tive god,  on  his  appearance ;  for  when  Simon  had  declared  that  he 
would  ascend  aloft  into  heaven,  .  :  .  .  the  servants  of  God  .... 
cast  him  headlong  on  the  eaiih ;  .  .  .  .  and  though  this  occurrence 
was  wonderful  in  itself,  it  was  not  wonderful  under  the  circum- 
•tances,  for  it  was  Peter  who  did  it,  he  who  beara  with  him  the  keys 


of! 

hel 
mt 


(«)  Apol.  i.  c.  84. 


^)  Common,  c.  80. 


LIFE  OF  ST.  PBTBB. 


26 


of  heaven ;  it  is  not  worth  our  wonder,  for  it  was  Paul  who  did  it» 
he  who  was  caught  up  into  the  third  heaven." 

St  Cyril's  testimony  agrees  with  those  already  cited,  as  to  the 
main  facts  of  the  magician's  defeat  at  Rome  by  St.  Peter.  In  one 
respect,  however,  he  differs  from  the  writers  already  cited,  for  he 
supposes  this  event  to  have  taken  place  in  the  reign  of  Nero,  and 
not  in  the  time  of  Olaudius.  Many  writers  agree  with  Cyril  in 
placing  the  downfall  of  Simon  Magus  in  the  reign  of  Nero. 

The  legates  of  the  holy  see,  in  a  letter  to  Eusebius  of  Vercelli, 
also  make  mention  of  this  event :  ''  For  the  Lord  and  his  Christ 
know  that  on  the  arrival  of  the  most  blessed  apostles,  the  name  of 
God  is  glorified  in  the  overthrow  of  Simon." 
•  St.  Pacian  plainly  refers  to  this  well-known  story :  "  Does  not 
Peter  confound  Simon  in  the  presence  of  the  judge  ?  does  not  Paul 
blindElymas?"(a) 

Epiphanius,  when  writing  on  the  heresy  of  the  Simonians,  refers 
to  the  occurrence  in  the  following  words :  "  Simon,  we  know,  paid 
the  debt  of  Nature  at  Rome,  when  falling  he  dies  miserably  in  the 
midst  of  the  city  of  the  Romans."  (b) 

St.  Ambrose,  in  the  work  entitled  Egesippus,  which  he  wrote 
while  still  young  and  a  catechumen,  enters  into  greater  detail  He 
tells  us  "  that  Simon  promised  to  fly,  and  thus  ascend  to  the  heav- 
enly abodes.  On  the  day  agreed  upon  he  went  to  the  Capitoline 
Hill,  and,  throwing  himself  from  the  rock,  began  his  ascent.  Then 
Peter,  standing  in  the  midst,  said :  '  0  Lord  Jesus,  show  him  that 
his  arts  are  vain.'  Hardly  had  these  words  been  uttered,  when  the 
wings  which  Simon  had  made  use  of  became  entangled,  and  ho  felL 
His  thigh  was  fractured,  never  to  be  healed ;  and  some  time  after- 
wards the  unhappy  man  died  at  Aretia,  whither  he  had  retired  after 
his  discomfiture." 

In  another  of  his  works  Epiphanttis  refers  to  the  same  fact : 
"Peter  overthrew  and  laid  prostrate  Simon,  as  he  soared  to  heaven 
by  magic  flight,  by  breaking  the  power  of  his  charms." 

Philostrius  of  Brizia,  in  his  observations  on  the  heresy  of  Simon, 
■ays ''  that  when  the  heresiarch  arrived  in  Rome  where  he  would  eoit 


(«)  Bpiit.  U.  ad  BjmV 


(fi)  Heb.  xri.  6. 


96 


THB  TBAOHnrOS,  A0T8,  AlTD 


tend  with  the  blessed  apostle,  [Peter,]  in  the  presence  of  Nero  the 
king,  being  completely  overthrown  by  the  power  of  the  blessed 
apostle,  and  stricken  by  an  angel,  he  merited  such  a  death  as  made 
the  evident  lie  of  his  magic  patent  to  all  men." 

St.  Augustine,  the  illustrious  prelate  of  Africa,  in  several  places 
distinctly  alludes  to  St.  Peter's  overcoming  Simon  at  Kome.  In 
the  beginning  of  his  book  on  heresies,  he  says :  "  In  which  city 
[Bome]  the  apostle  Peter  overcame  him  by  the  true  power  of  the 
Ahnighty  God." 

In  answer  to  all  these  statements,  which  are  so  striking,  and 
which  so  fully  prove  St.  Peter's  being  at  Rome,  it  is  alleged  by 
writers  of  sn  infidel  turn  of  mind,  that  Simon  is  a  myth,  and  his 
doings  mere  fabulous  legends,  or  mere  romances  got  up  to  adorn 
the  life  of  St.  Peter.  For  the  following  reasons  this  statement 
would  appear  to  be  devoid  of  truth.  Those  writers  who  have 
been  referred  to,  as  may  be  seen,  speak  absolutely  about  the  person- 
ality and  deeds  of  the  impostor.  Even  the  Apologists,  as  Justin^ 
TeftuUian,  and  Vincent  of  Lerins,  speak  in  as  plain  terms  about  him 
as  about  any  other  well-known  individual ;  nor  could  they  refer 
even  emperors  and  a  Roman  senate  to  the  history  of  a  fictitious  per- 
son, for  by  doing  this  they  would  render  their  own  proceed- 
ings of  no  avail,  and  they  would  have  materially  injured  the  cause 
of  Christianity.  An  inaccuracy  of  this  nature  would  have  done  an 
amount  of  mischief  which  volumes  of  truths  would  not  have  suf- 
ficed to  repair,       t  .  :  *  V    *  A 

St.  Augustine  informs  us  that  as  -^neas  was  proclaimed  a  god 
after  his  death,  by  the  Latins,  so  was  Sangus  likewise  by  the 
Sabines,  and  therefore  the  inscription  which  was  discovered  with 
"  Sangus"  on  it,  refers  to  him,  and  is  altogether  different  from  the 
inscription  recorded  by  Justin,  and  which  has  already  been  refeiTed 
to;  therefore  the  objection  drawn  from  the  discovery  of  this  statue, 
and  which  the  writere  before  referred  to  speak  so  much  of,  is  of  no 
avail,  as  it  does  not  militate  against  the  statement  of  Justin,  who 
refers  to  a  different  statue  and  a  different  inscription  altogether. 


BT. 


Nero  the 
3  blessed 
L  as  made 


UFB  OF  ST.  PBTlffl. 


■':,  ■■■'■^  ?;Ta---  ■ 


ST 


al  places 
)me.  In 
lich  city 
er  of  the 

Aug,  and 
eged  by 
and  his 
to  adorn 
:atement 
ho  have 
3  person- 
3  Justin, 
►out  him 
ey  refer 
ous  per- 
)roceed- 
le  cause 
one  an 
i-ve  suf- 

agod 
by  the 
i  w'^h 
)m  the 
ifeiTed 
Jtatue, 

of  no 

,  who 

er. 


■V-   ,;}.::  :;^.:'r:- •:..■;,  CHAPTER  Y.  j V- j; ;. , ;- -/-;,;:;, 

ST.    r>TKK   DATES    HIB   nRBT    BPI8TLB    FROM    ROME. — TK8TIM0NT    OF  PAPIAS,    YALB' 

8IU8,    AND    QR0TIU8,    TO   THAT   BFFBOT. 

If  further  proof  be  needed  of  the  sojourn  of  St.  Peter  at  Kome, 
the  following  reasons  will  supply  this.  < 

All  critics  of  any  weight  or  authority  assert  it,  as  a  certain  rule, 
that  any  circumstance  which  a  writer  of  respectability,  who  lived 
either  at  the  time  or  near  the  time  when  the  event  which  he  records 
took  place,  is  to  be  believed,  unless  a  writer  of  earlier  date  or  one 
whose  testimony  is  more  worthy,  does  not  profess  to  believe  in  it. 

A  public  fact  which  all  the  faithful,  and  which  even  those  who 
do  not  hold  the  faith,  have  believed  to  be  true  for  fifteen  centuries, 
must  be  supposed  to  have  taken  place,  although  there  would  be  no 
other  record  for  it  in  existence  than  the  fact  of  its  being  believed  in 
for  so  long  a  time,    r    .     >       ^        ■  ^. 

When  men  v  rite  about  public  circumstances,  and  about  matters 
referring  to  history,  they  satisfy  themselves  about  the  truth  of  these, 
not  only  from  books  and  writings  but  also  from  public  monuments, 
from  inscriptions,  and  from  privileges  and  immunities  conferred  on 
any  particular  city  or  state,  for  all  these  have  authority  in  deter- 
mining whether  the  matter  referred  to  took  place  or  not. 

The  law  of  nations  and  public  faith  require  that  credit  should  be 
given  to  any  city  or  state  recording  those  things,  while  those  who 
relate  them  must  have  sufficient  opport;unity  of  knowing  whether 
they  took  place  or  were  connected  with  their  public  history. 

All  reasonings  or  arguments,  unless  they  be  direct  historical 
proofs,  are  of  no  weight  when  adduced  against  a  circumstance 
which  is  supported  by  cotemporaneous  history,  by  unanimous  con- 
sent, and  by  a  tradition  of  many  ages ;  and  if  what  has  been  already 
stated  be  called  to  mind,  it  will  be  found  that  the  journey  of  St 
Peter  to  Rome  is  to  be  accounted  amongst  these  facts  which  tb9 


W  TKB  TBAQHINOB,  AOTS|  AITD 

above  rules  relate  to,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  referred  to  by  Papias, 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  Origen,  Tertullian,  and  several  other  writers 
of  the  second  or  third  century ;  and,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  follow- 
ing chapters,  there  are  public  monuments  existing  in  Boine,  connect- 
ed with  St  Peter's  stay  in  that  city.  The  Roman  pontiflFs,  from  the 
time  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  have  maintained  the  supreme  authority 
in  the  Chuixjh,  and  all  the  honors  and  privileges  connected'  with 
this  high  position.  The  conclusion  from  all  these  proofs  is  evident 
— ^that  St.  Peter's  visiting  Rome  rests  upon  such  historical  proofs, 
that  all  the  arguments  of  those  who  profess  to  disbelieve  it  cannot 
call  it  into  question. 

But  there  is  another  argument  remaining  to  be  stated  in  con- 
nection with  this  subject,  This  is  the  testimony  of  St.  Peter  him- 
self, who  dates  his  first  epistle  from  Rome.  As  all  eminent  writers 
interpret  this  passage  in  his  first  Epistle:  "The  Chui'ch  which 
is  in  Babylon,  elected  together,  saluteth  you."  (a)  In  calling 
the  city  of  Rome  Babylon,  the  apostle  seems  to  have  been  influ- 
enced by  motives  of  prudence,  that  he  might  not  indicate  to  the 
many  enemies  which  he  had,  the  place  of  his  residence,  and  by  his 
doing  so,  subject  himself  to  constant  persecution.  This  he  was  ever 
ready  to  suflfer  when  it  came  upon  him,  but  to  bring  it  upon  himself 
needlessly,  might  well  be  looked  upon  as  a  tempting  of  Providence. 
It  should  also  be  remembered  that  he  was  writing  to  those  of  He- 
brew oiigin,  who  were  familiar  with  figurative  language,  from  peru- 
sing the  wntings  of  the  prophets,  which  abound  in  this  style  of 
speech.  It  had  been  usual  to  call  a  mcked  city,  Sodom,  a  country 
given  to  idolatiy,  EgypJ;,  a  people  under  a  curse,Chanaan,a  city  which 
wasfillcjd  with  wickedness,  and  which  might  be  looked  upon  in  the 
light  of  an  enemy,  Babylon.  This  city  had  been  the  place  where 
their  ancestors  suffered  captivity,  and  it  had  spoiled  their  ancestors 
of  their  countiy  and  of  their  kingdom.  Pagan  Rome  resembled 
this  in  many  respects;  for  it  had  reduced  Judea  into  a  province,  and 
had  already  persecuted  the  Christians,  and  stirred  up  the  hatred  of 
its  inhabitants  against  them. 

When  St.  Peter  dwelt  at  Rome,  and  when  he  wrote  to  the 


(«)  C.  V.  18. 


LIFB  OF  ST.  PBTBB. 


S9 


)y  Papias, 
ler  writers 
he  follow- 
e,  connect- 
9,  from  the 
authority 
cted'  with 
is  evident 
sal  proofs, 
I  it  cannot 

;d  in  con- 
Peter  him- 
nt  writers 
xjh  which 
In  calling 
3een  influ- 
tte  to  the 
nd  by  his 
i  was  ever 
m  himself 
ovidence. 
►se  of  He- 
•oni  peru- 
style  of 
country 
ity  which 
on  in  the 
ce  where 
ancestors 
serabled 
ince,  and 
atred  of 

to  the 


strangers  dispersed  through  Pontus,  Galatia,  Oappadocia,  Asia,  and 
Bithynia,  it  was  natural  to  call  Rome  by  the  name  of  Babylon, 
being  the  name  by  which  these  persons,  as  ancient  writers  tell  us, 
were  accustomed  to  call  that  city.  Papias  informs  us,  that  St.  Peter 
wrote  his  fii-st  Epistle  at  Rome,  and  that  he  referred  to  Rome,  when 
he  made  use  of  these  words :  "  The  Chui-ch  which  is  in  Babylon, 
elected  together,  saluteth  you."  (a)  And  Valesius,  a  wnter  of  note, 
states  that  those  who  wish  to  refer  the  Babylon  spoken  of  by  St 
Peter  to  the  eastern  metropolis  of  that  name,  are  going  contrary  to 
the  opinion  of  eastern  writers ;  and  Grotius,  a  writer  whose  belief 
would  have  led  him  to  have  adopted  a  different  opinion,  if  facts 
were  not  too  strong  against  him,  wiites  as  follows :  "  The  new  and 
the  old  interpreters  differ  respecting  Babylon.  The  old  interpre- 
ters refer  it  to  Rome,  where  no  true  Christiari  ever  doubted  that  St. 
Peter  had  been ;  the  new  state  that  Babylon  in  Chaldea  is  meant 
by  it ;  I,  however,  agree  with  the  old."  (b) 

It  also  appears  that  the  Jews,  to  whom  St.  Peter  wrote  his  Epis- 
tle, would  not  be  likely  to  apply  Babylon  to  the  city  of  that  name 
which  was  in  Chaldea,  for  it  appears  from  the  testimony  of  Pliny, 
that  i*  ^^s  rather  a  heap  of  stones  than  a  city.  Strabo  speaks  of  it 
as  nearly  altogether  deserted ;  Diodorus  s[)eaks  of  it  as  having  only 
its  smallest  part  inhabited.  They  also  add,  that  a  short  time  be- 
fore the  reign  of  Claudius,  in  the  reign  of  Caius,  the  Jews  were  ban- 
ished from  Babylon,  a;  d  came  to  Seleucia.  . .. 

Josephus  gives  a  more  detailed  account  or-  this  event.  He  says, 
"  that  the  Babylonians,  Anilaus  and  his  I'ompanions  being  put  to 
death,  attacked  the  Jews,  who,  deeming  themselves  not  equal  to 
enter  into  a  contest  with  them,  fled  to  Seleucia,  where  they  were 
safe  from  any  -ssault  for  fifty  yeare ;  that  six  years  after  this  a  pes- 
tilence raged  in  the  city,  and  that  a  few  families  of  the  Jews  who 
had  no*i  yet  migrated  from  the  city,  came  to  Seleucia,  where  a  dread- 
ful calamity  overpowered  them,  for  the  Greeks  and  the  Syrians, 
who  were  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  though  hitherto  they  were  not 
on  good  terras,  entered  into  a  league  to  destroy  the  Jews,  and  slew 
more  than  fifty  thousand  of  them ;  and  those  who  escaped  from  the 


■'-'fS 


(a)  1  Peter,  v.  IS. 


(b)  Grotias  on  1  Peter  r.  IS. 


80 


THB  TSAonmos,  ▲on,  avd 


slaughter  went  to  Neesda  and  Nesbis,  esteeming  tliemselves  safer 
there." 

There  was  a  village  in  Egypt  called  Babylon,  which  is  now  the 
modern  Cairo.  This  appears  to  have  been  built  by  the  Persians, 
when  Cam  by  seel,  who  was  also  king  of  Egypt,  permitted  the  Per- 
sians to  settle  in  that  country.  In  the  time  of  Strabo,  one  of  the. 
Roman  legions,  which  had  been  emancipated  in  Egypt,  retired  there, 
as  into  a  strong  fortification ;  but  there  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  either  Jews  or  Christians  residing  there.  Nor  is  it  asserted 
by  any  eminent  writer  that  St.  Peter  went  there,  or  preached  the 
gospel  thera  Nor  does  it  appear  to  have  had  a  bishop  before  the 
time  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  according  to  Spanheim,  whose 
name  was  Cyrus.  Baronius,  however,  states,  that  the  first  bishop 
of  this  place  was  called  Zosimus,  and  that  in  the  fifth  century, 
when  Justin  was  emperor,  he  ruled  over  the  church  in  that  city, 
if  St.  Peter  had  established  a  church  there,  it  could  not  have  re- 
mained unknown  through  so  many  ages ;  and  if  he  were  writing  to 
the  Jews  of  this  place,  he  would  have  added  some  word  which 
would  have  marked  it  more  distinctly,  that  there  might  not  have 
been  a  possibility  of  confounding  it  with  Babylon  of  Chaldea — a 
city  which  was  nearer  to  them,  and  being  more  closoly  connected 
with  their  history,  and  with  the  various  events  which  took  place 
during  the  time  they  had  dwelt  in  Palestine.  Besides,  it  has  never 
been  shown  that  St.  Peter  crossed  the  Euphrates,  or  ever  visited 
Babylon  in  Chaldea  or  Babylon  in  Egypt.  Neither  Scripture  nor 
ecclesiastical  history  even  allude  to  such  an  event  e\'er  having  taken 
place.  There  is  therefore  no  reason  for  depart.ing  from  the  usually 
received  interpretation,  and  not  supposing  that  St.  Peter  meant  by 
Babylon  the  city  of  Rome. 

The  Jews  to  whom  St.  Peter  wrote  could  not  suppose  that  the 
apostles  alluded  either  to  Babylon  in  Chaldea  or  Babylon  in  Egypt, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  more  natural  that  they  should  believe 
he  referred  to  Pagan  Kome,  which,  as  a  city  filled  with  iniquity, 
might  well  be  called  Babylon. 

The  pag'  .ige  in  the  first  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  where  he  speaks  of 
the  church  which  is  in  Babylon,  could  not  have  remained  unknown 
for  lo  many  centuries,  as  those  who  are  not  inclined  to  admit  that 


LIFE  OP  ST.  PETER. 


81 


Ives  safer 

!  now  the 
Persians, 

the  Pep- 
ne  of  the. 
red  there, 
r  to  have 
;  asserted 
iched  the 
►efore  the 
m,  whose 
3t  bishop 

century, 
that  city. 

have  re- 
writing to 
I'd  which 
not  have 
ildea — a 
>nnected 
ok  place 
as  never 
p  visited 
ture  nor 
ig  taken 

usually 

eant  by 

;hat  the 

Egypt, 

believe 
liquity, 

eaks  of 
known 
lit  that 


the  apostle  in  these  words  refers  to  pagan  Borne  would  have  us  be^ 
lieve.  "Whoever  read  the  passage  would  at  once  come  to  the  con- 
clusion whether  Babylon  was  to  be  understood  in  an  allegorical 
sense  or  in  a  literal  sense.  The  most  illiterate  as  well  as  the  most 
learned  would  soon  make  up  their  minds  on  this  point,  r^nd  having 
i;  once  done  so,  would  not  hastily  change ;  they  could  not  be  at  a  very 
^  great  loss  to  find  out  where  St.  Peter  was  when  he  wrot€  this  1  pis- 
tie,  and  then  they  would  infer  that  he  was  purposing  to  designate 
that  place  by  the  name  of  Babylon.  We  do  not  find  any  per- 
son doubting  that  the  apostle  was  at  Kome  when  he  wroto  this 
Epistle. 

Those  who  had  read  the  Epistle  would  also  be  able  to  find  cut 
whether  S^^  Peter  was  ever  at  Babylon  or  not,  and  also  whether  he 
was  at  Rome  when  he  wrote  the  Epistle.  It  does  not  appear  that 
any  writer  mentions  any  difference  of  opinion  having  existed  re- 
specting this  matter ;  they  all  seem  to  conclude  that  by  Babylon  St. 
Peter  intends  to  designate  the  city  of  Rome,  then  the  capital  of  the 
pagan  world.  It  would  also  seem  that  these  persons  held  this  as  an 
apostolic  tradition,  which  had  been  handed  down  to  them  by  the 
apostles  themselves,  or  by  their  disciples. 

Modern  writers  would  oppose  this,  though  they  adduce  no  argu- 
ments  or  authorities  of  any  weight  to  corroborate  their  statements. 
The  differonces  which  exist  in  their  interpretations  of  this  passage 
show  also  their  want  of  unity,  and  that  they  are  destitute  of  that 
which  has  ever  been  looked  upon  as  a  mark  of  truth — agreement  in 
-  the  main  facts  of  the  statements  which  are  made.  The  fathers  and 
the  Catholic  interpreters  have  always  taught,  without  any  one  at- 
tempting to  deny  it,  from  the  first  ages  of  the  Church  until  the  pres- 
ent day,  that  St.  Peter,  in  his  first  Epistle,  by  Babylon  intended  to 
point  out  Kome,  as  the  pla  ^e  from  which  he  wrote  his  first  Epistle. 
Their  statement  has  met  with  no  contradiction  until  of  late  yearn 
The  conclusion  is  evident  that  it  must  be  looked  upon  as  tme. 

It  has  been  stated  as  an  objection  to  St.  Peter's  being  at  Rome, 
that  the  different  writers  have  not  been  agreed  amongst  themselves 
as  to  the  exact  year  when  he  first  came  there  ;  but  this  objection  is 
of  no  weight,  for  though  the  writers  may  differ  in  their  statements 
respecting  the  date  of  the  apostle's  coming  to  Rome,  they  all  are 


.■ft 


ai  Tint  TBA0HIN08,  ACTS,  AHD 

I 

unanimous  in  maintaining  the  fact  of  his  coming  there.  Lactan- 
tius  places  the  time  ol  St.  Peter's  coming  to  Kome  in  the  reign  of 
NeiH) ;  £u3ebius,  St.  Jerome,  and  others  fix  tlie  date  in  the  second 
year  of  Claudius.  Many  of  the  ancient  fathers  say  that  he  wai 
bishop  of  Kome  for  twenty -five  years.  St.  Paul,  though  dwelling  at 
Rome,  and  having  written  many  Epistles  from  it,  nowhere  mentions 
tit.  Peter.  These  also  are  urged  as  objections  against  the  apostle's 
ever  being  at  the  capital  of  the  pagan  world.  It  is  also  added  that 
Claudius,  in  the  year  49,  in  the  ninth  year  of  his  reign,  banished  all 
the  Jews  from  Rome,  thereiore  that  Stv  Peter  must  have  left  it  at 
that  period. 

It  may  be  said  in  reply  to  those  who  maintain  that  St.  Peter  was 
never  at  Rome,  because  the  writera  differ  about  the  year  when  he 
came  there,  that  the  Church  affirms  nothing  respecting  the  time 
when  St.  Peter  came  to  that  city ;  all  that  it  maintains  is,  that  St. 
Peter  was  at  Rome ;  and  gives  perfect  liberty  to  follow  the  writer 
who  maintains  with  the  clearest  arguments  what  seems  to  be  the 
true  date.  Those  who  place  the  advent  of  St.  Peter  to  Rome  in  the 
second  year  of  Claudius,  and  those  who  maintain  that  he  came  there 
when  that  emperor  began  his  reign,  do  not  differ  from  each  other ; 
for  when  Claudius  reigned  thirteen  yeai*s,  the  second  year  of  this 
emperor  may  be  called  the  beginning  of  his  reign. 

Though  it  may  be  maintained  that  St.  Peter  was  bishop  of  Rome 
for  twenty-five  years,  it  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  thence  that  he 
remained  there  during  all  that  time ;  for,  as  the  necessities  of  the 
Church  required  it,  he  could  go  to  the  east  or  the  west,  and  yet  not 
have  given  up  his  see,  as  the  bishops  who,  in  the  present  time,  are 
obliged  to  visit  thd  holy  city,  are  not  said  to  have  given  up  their 
see,  because  they  go  away  from  it  for  a  short  time ;  and  from  the 
second  year  of  Claudius  to  the  last  year  of  Nero  a  space  of  ex- 
actly twenty-five  yeai*s  intervened.  Nor  is  there  any  difficulty  in 
reconciling  those  statements  which  differ  from  each  other ;  for  it  is 
probable  that  St.  Peter  came  to  Rome,  according  to  the  opinion  of 
St.  Jerome,  Eusebius,  and  other  writers,  in  the  second  year  of  the 
reign  of  Claudius,  and  then  left  it  for  some  time ;  but  returned 
again  in  the  12th  or  13th  year  of  the  reign  of  Nero,  shortly  be- 
fore he  suffered  martyrdom;  and,  being  cast  into  prison,  suffered 


toge^ 
day 

N<| 
fromi 
St.  PI 
stated 
it  is 
Bom^ 


00^1^ 


LIFE  OP  ST.  PETER. 


88 


Lactan- 
reign  of 
B  second 
b  he  was 
elling  at 
nentiont 
Apostle's 
ded  that 
[shed  all 
left  it  at 

Bter  was 
(^hen  he 
^he  time 
that  St. 
e  writer 

be  the 
le  in  the 
ae  there 
I  other ; 

of  this 

fRome 
;hat  he 
of  the 
yet  not 
ne,  are 
p  their 
>m  the 
of  ex- 
ilty  in 
3r  it  is 
lion  of 
of  the 
;urned 
ly  be- 
iffered 


together  with  St.  Paul,  in  the  year  66,  on  the  29th  6f  June,  the 
day  in  which  the  Church  celebrates  their  martyrdom. 

Nor  is  there  any  thing  strange  in  St  Paul,  in  writing  to  others 
from  Borne,  or  in  writing  to  the  Komans  his  Epistle,  not  mentioning 
St.  Peter,  when  St.  Peter  was  absent  from  Rome  at  that  time.  It  is 
stated  as  a  strong  objection  against  the  apostle's  being  at  Rome,  that 
it  is  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  that  the  Jews  dwelling  at 
Rome,  whom  St.  Paul  questioned  respecting  the  Christian  religion 
—  and  told  the  nature  of  the  persecution  he  underwent,  —  that 
they  stated  the  only  knowledge  they  had  respecting  the  Chris- 
tian religion  was  that  it  was  spoken  against  everywhere;  for  they 
told  him :  "  For  as  concerning  this  sect  we  know  that  it  is  every- 
where contradicted."(a)  It  would  appear  that  these  Jews  were  not 
of  the  fold  of  Christ,  and,  imbued  with  the  false  opinions  which  they 
had  received  from  the  calumnies  and  writings  of  the  Hebrews,  were 
acquainted  with  the  Christian  religion  only  by  name ;  and  when  St. 
Paul  came  to  Rome,  they  eagerly  flocked  to  hear  him.  Knowing 
that  he  was  a  learned  man,  they  were  anxious  to  hear  something 
more  respecting  the  Christians  against  whom  the  synagogue  had 
been  so  greatly  excited ;  and  although  many  of  the  Jews  who  dwelt 
at  Rome,  as  also  many  of  the  heathens,  had  embraced  the  faith,  as 
they  did  not  frequent  the  synagogue,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  sup- 
posing that  the  Jews  had  not  heard  of  the  Epistle  which  St.  Paul 
had  written  to  the  Romans ;  therefore  it  is  natural  to  expect  that 
they  should  be  unacquainted  with  the  labors  both  of  St  Paul  and 
St.  Peter,  in  propagating  the  faith. 

It  would  appear  thiat  when  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  had  resolved  to 
devote  themselves,  one  exclusively  to  the  Jews,  and  the  other  to  the 
Gentiles,  they  did  not  intend  thereby  to  preclude  themselves  from 
preaching  to  either  Gentiles  or  Jews,  whenever  an  opportunity 
should  present  itself.  St.  Peter  administered  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism to  Cornelius  and  his  entire  household ;  and  St.  Paul,  wherever 
he  went,  or  in  whatever  city  he  dwelt,  first  preached  the  faith  to 
the  Jews  and  afterwards  to  the  Gentiles,  when  there  seemed  to  be  a 
hope  of  converting  them  to  the  faith.  St  Peter,  without  neglecting 

(a)  Acts,  xxviii.  22. 


84 


THE  TEA0HINO8,  ACTS,  AND 


the  Gentiles,  made  it  his  duty  to  bring  the  Jews  within  the  fold  of 
the  Church ;  and  St.  Paul  followed  a  like  course  with  respect  to  the 
Gentiles,  always  instructing  them,  without  declining,  whenever  an 
opportunity  presented  itself,  to  make  the  Jews  participators  in  the 
same  blessings. 

At  Rome  St.  Peter  would  find  an  ample  field  for  exercising  hit 
mission ;  for,  when  Herod  died,  Josephus  informs  us  that  the  am- 
bassadoi's  who  came  fi'om  Jerusalem  to  Rome,  to  request  that  they 
might  for  the  future  be  free  from  the  goveiiiment  of  the  kinga^ 
brought  twelve  thousand  Jews  with  them,  (a)  And  Philo  records 
that  the  part  of  Rome  beyond  the  Tiber  now  called  the  Traste- 
vere  was  chiefly  inhabited  by  the  Jews,  (b)  In  the  reign  of  Clau- 
dius there  were  so  many  Jews  residing  at  Rome  that  he  feared  a 
tumult.  He  did  not  however  dare  to  expel  them  from  the  city,  but 
was  content  to  forbid  their  assembling  together.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, he  expelled  them  in  the  ninth  year  of  his  reign,  because,  on 
account  of  the  Christians,  they  were  constantly  engaging  in  tumul- 
tuous proceedings,  (c) 

It  is  very  probable  that  St.  Peter  left  Rome  at  this  time,  and  re- 
turned in  the  sixth  year  of  Nero,  who  did  not  persecute  the  Jews, 
but  only  exercised  his  cruel  disposition  in  persecuting  the  Chris- 
tiana Near  the  conclusion  of  the  reign  of  Nero,  all  ancient  writers 
affirm  that  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  both  returned  to  Rome,  where 
they  suffered  martyrdom.  The  objection  which  is  sometimes  urged, 
from  no  mention  being  made  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  of  St. 
Peter's  being  at  Rome,  is  not  of  much  force ;  for  St.  Luke  does  not 
profess  to  write  a  history  of  St.  Peter,  or  to  give  an  account  of  his 
life.  After  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  he 
seems  altogether  to  forget  St  Peter,  in  order  that  he  may  devote 
himself  to  give  a  lengthened  account  of  the  labors  of  St.  Pau 

Spanheim,  in  order  that  he  might  invalidate  the  testimony  which 
has  been  adduced  to  show  that  St.  Peter  was  at  Rome,  has  collected 
an  immense  number  of  legends  respecting  the  places  which  St.  Peter 
visited,  also  respecting  the  churches  and  altars  which  are  said  to 
have  been  consecrated  by  him  and  the  bishops  of  the  different  citiea 


(a)  Antiqa.  t.  17,  e.  IS.        (ft)  Legat  ad  Cainm.        (e)  Snetonios  in  GUadiOb 


UFB  OF  8T.  PBTlBi 


•• 


e  fold  ol 
!ct  to  the 
inever  an 
)rs  in  the 

i»ing  his 
the  am- 
hat  they 
le  kinga^ 
0  records 
)  Traste- 
of  Clau- 
feared  a 
city,  but 
irs,  how- 
iause,  on 
n  tumul- 

I,  and  re- 
e  Jews, 
le  Chris- 
;  writers 
B,  where 
8  urged, 
!8  of  St. 
Ices  not 
t  of  his 
}tles,  he 

devote 
i*au 

which 
)llected 
t.  Peter 
said  to 
it  cities 

andiok 


ii 


firho  wert  the  companions  of  his  journeys.  To  these  he  has  added 
many  circumstances  which  bear  upon  them  the  stamp  of  falsehood. 
But  it  is  clear  that  these  cannot  invalidate  the  truth  of  the  question 
which  he  wishes  to  disprove,  that  8t.  Peter  was  at  Rome  and  lired 
there  for  many  years,  no  more  than  the  false  statements  and  foolish 
stories  which  the  Jews  have  connected  with  the  life  of  our  Lord  and 
his  apostles,  would  show  that  such  a  person  never  existed,  and  that 
he  was  not  crucified  in  Jerusalem ;  for  the  duty  of  the  critic  is  not 
to  reject  the  principal  facts  of  history  because  they  may  be  some> 
times  colored  with  false  assertions,  but  to  select  the  true  from  the 
false,  the  certain  from  the  doubtful,  and  genuine  facts  from  the  falsa 
adjuncts  with  which  they  may  be  encumbered. 

But  the  labors  of  our  adversaries  do  not  even  rest  here,  they 
make  use  of  all  possible  means  to  weaken  the  force  of  the  testimony 
of  the  writers  which  have  been  already  adduced.  They  say  that 
Papiei  was  a  credulous  and  simple-minded  man,  and  believed  in 
every  story  that  he  might  chance  to  hear ;  they  affirm  that  the  quo- 
tations made  f  rom^gnatius  are  false,  and  that  the  Epistle  which  he 
wrote  from  Smyrna  to  the  Romans  is  incorrectly  attributed  to  him 
They  add  to  these  assertions  that  Iraeneus,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
Tertullian,  and  Origen  have  committed  many  errors,  both  respect- 
ing time  and  places,  in  their  writings,  and  are  not  therefore  worthy 
of  credit.  This  is  however  a  very  poor  way  to  elude  the  authority 
of  the  fathers,  and  to  seek  to  invalidate  their  writings.  If  the 
fathers  and  writers  of  the  firet  three  centuries  are  of  no  weight,  and 
of  no  authority  respecting  matters  of  fact,  what  grounds  have  our 
adversaries  for  their  opinions,  and  for  the  creeds  which  they  profess 
to  hold  and  to  teach  ?  Many  of  the  dogmas  of  our  holy  religion 
are  so  closely  connected  with  facts,  and  so  interwoven  with  them, 
that  they  cannot  be  separated  from  them. 

If  we  reject  the  testimony  of  Ignatius,  of  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
of  Origen,  of  Tertullian,  and  of  the  writers  of  the  three  first  centu 
ries,  where  can  we  find  other  writers  whose  authority  is  of  greater 
weight  than  these !  K  Origen  and  Tertullian  erred  in  matters  ol 
iuth,  this  will  not  serve  to  invalidate  their  testimony  respecting  a 
fkct  publicly  known,  and  which  was  of  such  interest  to  religion  in 
general,  that  it  could  not  possibly  remain  unknown. 


86  TBV  TSAOniNOS,  ACTS,  AM9 

The  odIj  conolusioQ  we  can  arrive  at  respectfng  this  matter  i% 
that  St.  Peter  came  to  iiome  and  wuh  bmhop  uf  that  see  fur  twenty* 
five  years,  and  that  one  of  thu  principal  objuctH  lie  liad  in  view  when 
he  came  to  that  city,  was  to  put  an  end  to  the  evil  machinations  of 
Simon  Magus;  and  tliat  it  also  appears  that  the  Babylon  from 
which  he  dates  his  first  epistle  is  not  to  bo  taken  as  referring  t« 
Babylon  in  £gypty  nor  Babylon  in  Chaldea,  but  that  the  apostU 
intends  by  this  to  refer  to  Rome. 


CHAPTER  VI 


TRI  ORAmi  09  ST.  PBTIR  IW  THI  OHirROIT  OF  BT.  PIITRO  IW  VIirOOLt.^RB  UAMBK* 
TIHB  PRISON  THR  PLACI  Or  IIIS  OONFINEMRNT. — TilR  OSTtAN  WAY,  WttIRR  OUR 
LORD   APPSARID  TO   BT.    PRTRR. — OHUOIFIXION    OF  ST.    FKTXR. 

There  are  local  circumstances  connected  with  St.  Peter's  dwell- 
ing in  the  eternal  city  which  will  give  additional  weight  to  the  ar- 
guments which  have  been  already  stated.  In  no  other  part  of  the 
world  save  in  Rome  shall  we  find  spots  pointed  out  as  places  hal- 
lowed by  the  imprisonment  and  crucifixion  of  the  apostle,  and  also 
by  his  tomb ;  in  no  other  city  in  the  world  are  there  existing  monu- 
ments which  refer  to  a  person  who  lived  eighteen  centuries  ago, 
such  as  those  connected  with  St.  Peter  in  Rome. 

The  hill  on  which  he  suffered  is  shown,  and  the  spot  is  now  hal- 
lowed by  having  a  circular  chapel  erected  over  it,  which  has  a 
dome  supported  by  sixteen  Doric  columns  of  black  granite,  and 
Was  built  at  the  expense  of  Ferdinand  IV.,  the  king  of  Spain ;  it  is 
near  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  in  Montorio,  the  hill  called  the  Mon- 
torio  being  considered  as  part  of  the  Vatican  and  not  as  part  of  the 
Janiculum.  This  spot  appears  ij  have  been  selected  by  Nero  that 
be  might  be  able  to  witness  the  martyrdom  of  the  apostle  from  th« 
palace  in  which  he  lived  on  the  Palatine  Hill.  There  St.  Peter 
was  craciiied  with  his  head  downward,  as  he  esteemed  it  too  high 
■n  honor  to  be  oracnfied  like  his  divine  Master. 

The  first  Christians  who  hallowed,  by  lasting  monuments,  tht 


LIFB  OF  IT.  PBTBR. 


87 


natter  1% 

r  twenty* 
lew  when 
ations  of 
Ion  from 
i3rring  t« 
0  apoHtlt 


'HI  MAMBB- 

rUKlUI  OVM 


r's  dwell- 
0  the  ar- 
rt  of  the 
aces  hal- 
and  also 
g  monu- 
ties  ago, 

now  hal- 
;h  has  a 
lite,  and 
in;  it  is 
he  Mon- 
i;  of  the 
ero  that 
rom  the 
t.  Peter 
00  high 


principal  places  which  were  made  sacred  by  the  footsteps  of  the 
apostles,  were  careful  to  mark  this  spot,  which  was  rendered  sacred 
by  the  death  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  in  Montorio, 
has  become  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  that  part  of  the  city  of 
Rome. 

"His  chains  also  are  shown,  tlioHo  chains  which  he  wore  to  givi 
liberty  to  the  world.  They  may  bt;  seen  in  the  Church  of  St  Piekit 
in  VincoH,  at  Home,  any  day  during  the  octavo  of  the  festival,  oi 
on  the  day  in  Lent  on  which  the  station  is  held  there ;  at  other 
times  they  are  kept  in  a  small  silver  box,  which  is  placed  inalarg  * 
chest  fastened  by  two  locks,  one  key  of  which  is  kept  by  the  ablv  t 
of  the  monastery,  and  the  other  by  the  nijyor  <lomo  of  the  saciod 
palace,  and  is  never  opened  without  the  written  order  of  the  pontiff, 
unless  on  the  station  in  Lent  and  during  the  octave  of  the  festival, 
when  they  are  ex[)oaed  on  an  altar  in  the  church,  over  which  is  a 
painting  of  the  miraculous  deliverance  of  St.  Peter  from  prisoD. 

"  Eudosia,  the  wife  of  the  Emperor  Thcodosius  the  younger,  going 
to  Jerusalem,  received  there  the  chains  with  which  the  apostle  was 
bound  by  Herod  ;  these  chains  she  afterwards  senttd  bar  daughter 
Eudoxia,  to  Rome,  who  gave  them  to  the  pope ;  he  showed  her  an« 
other  chain  with  which  Nero  had  bound  the  saw^o  apostle,  and 
when  the  pontiff  placed  the  chains  near  each  o'.her,  they  became 
miraculously  united,  and  form  now  but  one  rhdin ;  the  di£ferent 
structure  of  the  two  parts  of  the  chain  is  clearly  marked."  (a) 

The  place  of  his  imprisonment  is  also  shown.  "The  Mamertine 
prison  is  situated  at  the  north-eastei-n  evtremity  of  the  Capitoline 
Hill,  and  is  said  to  have  been  ercrtct?  by  Ancus  Martius.  The 
prison  is  divided  into  the  upper  and  lower.  The  descent  into  the 
first  is  by  a  modern  staircase  made  when  it  was  converted  into  a 
sacred  place.  The  first  prioou  is  thirty  feet  long,  twenty-two  feet 
wide,  and  fourteen  feet  high ;  there  was  a  hole  in  the  roof  through 
which  the  criminals  were  let  down  by  a  cord ;  under  this  was  a 
similar  hole  leading  to  the  lower  prison,  the  descent  to  which  is  now 
by  a  modern  staircase ;  this  lower  prison  is  twenty-two  feet  long, 
nine  feet  wide  and  six  feet  high.    An  inscription  in  the  wall  of  the 


■KlV 


%'3 


M-\ 


^ 


ntSythf 


(a)  Neligan'i  Rome,  p.  186. 


88  THE  'iBAOHIirCW,  AOH,  IVD 

npper  prison  states  it  was  restored  by  the  consuls  Vibnus  and  CoO' 
ceus  Nerva,  in  the  year  of  Home  574.  Although  the  entrance  was 
towards  the  capitol,  the  ascent  to  it  was  on  the  side  of  the  forum, 
near  the  commencement  of  the  steps  called  the  Scala  Gemonia 
These  steps  joined  the  prison  by  means  of  a  stone  biidge ;  from  theii 
summit  the  bodies  of  criminals  were  thrown,  in  order  to  terrify  the 
people  who  were  in  the  forum. 

"  In  this  prison  Jugurtha  died  of  hunger ;  the  accomplices  of  Cata 
line's  conspiracy  were  strangled  here ;  here,  also,  was  put  to  death 
Aristobulus  and  Sejanus  after  the  triumph  of  Pompey ;  Sejanus 
by  the  order  of  Tiberius,  and  Simon,  the  chief  of  the  Jews,  by 
the  order  of  Titus.  As  the  conqueror  ascended  to  the  capitol  in 
triumph,  the  prisoners  were  thrown  into  this  lower  prison,  being 
brought  there  by  the  Scala  Gemonia,  where  they  were  put  to 
death ;  when  this  was  accomplished  the  cry  *  actum  est' — ^it  is  done 
— ^told  the  conqueror  he 'might  now  leave  the  temple. 

"  But  other  impressions  than  these  fill  the  Christian  as  he  enters 
this  place.  Here  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  were  both  imprisoned ; 
from  this  place  they  were  taken  the  day  they  went  to  execution. 
We  kissed  with  respect  the  column  to  which  they  were  bound,  we 
drank  water  from  the  fountain  which  St.  Peter  caused  to  come  forth 
from  the  floor,  that  he  might  baptize  St.  Processus  and  St.  Martinia- 
nus,  their  jailors,  with  the  twenty-seven  soldiers,  who  were  all  mar- 
tyred in  their  turn.    There  are  altars  in  each  of  these  prisons."  (a) 

The  spot  is  also  pointed  out  whei*e  he  resided,  and  the  altar  on 
which  he  offered  up  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  These  are  now 
vrithin  the  Church  of  St.  Pudentiana. 

"  St.  Peter  having  arrived  at  Rome  about  the  year  44,  with  th« 
desire  of  planting  the  cross  on  the  summit  of  the  capitol,  went  at 
first  to  the  part  of  the  city  near  the  Tiber,  l)eing  the  quarter  of  the 
Jews.  He  soon  converted  the  Senator  Pudens,  his  mother  Priscilla, 
and  his  two  sons,  Novatius  and  Tiniotheus,  and  his  two  daughtera 
Praxedes  and  Pudentiana,  with  their  servants.  The  house  of  this 
devout  neophyts  soon  became  the  residence  of*the  apostle.  There 
Bt.  Peter  celebrated  the  august  mysteries,  and  consecrated  Linui 


and  Oil 
often  r 
in  the 
must  b 
well  in 
which 
bodies 
up.    Pi 
into  a  c 

«Ont 
to  St.  P 
founded 
Catholi( 
fined  in 
sentence 
him.  1 
solved  t 
saint  wa 
Way,  b} 
When  h( 
he  perc€ 
cross. 
Lord  rej 
and  retui 
vine  Ma 
The  cone 
the  appai 
Auxentii 

Nor  ar< 
the  aposi 
as  well  a 
fact.  Tl 
bility  to  I 
if  it  be  ] 
No  othei 


(•)  Neligan'B  Rome,  pp.  79,  80. 


(•) 


LIFE  OF  BT.  PBTBB. 


8t 


and  Oletns,  tliis  was  no  doubt  the  title  of  tlie  Pastor  wluch  we  so 
often  read  of  in  the  early  writers ;  whoever  has  seen  those  mosaiot 
in  the  aisle  near  the  altar,  on  which  St.  Peter  so  often  said  Mass, 
must  be  satisfied  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  place.  Here,  too,  is  the 
well  into  which  these  holy  virgins  squeezed  the  blood  of  martyrs 
which  they  had  collected  vrith  sponges ;  here,  too,  they  hid  the 
bodies  of  the  martyrs  and  their  remains,  which  they  had  gathered 
np.  Pius  I.,  in  the  second  century,  changed  the  senatorial  house 
into  a  church  with  the  title  of  the  Pastor,  (a) 

"On  the  Ostian  Way  is  also  shov/n  the  place  where  Christ  appeared 
to  St.  Peter,  and  which  is  callod  *  Domine  que  vadis?  This  church, 
founded  in  the  early  times  of  the  Church,  attests  a  fact  which  the 
Catholic  pilgrim  dwells  on  with  pleasure.  St.  Peter  had  been  con- 
fined in  the  Mamertine  Prison,  and  was  in  daily  expectation  of  the 
sentence  being  carried  into  execution  which  had  been  passed  on 
him.  The  Christians,  fearful  of  losing  their  chief  pastor,  had  re- 
solved to  rescue  him,  and  having  succeeded  in  their  attempt,  the 
saint  was  now  outside  the  walls  of  the  city,  travelling  on  the  Appian 
Way,  by  which  he  had  entered  Rome  twenty-five  years  before. 
When  he  had  arrived  at  the  place  where  this  church  is  now  built, 
he  perceived  his  divine  Master  coming  to  meet  him,  bearing  his 
cross.  Peter  recognizing  him,  said,  *  Doixiae  qtio  vadisJ  Our 
Lord  replied,  *  Venio  itei'V/m,  crucifigV  St.  Peter  understood  him, 
and  returned  to  Home,  and  there  awaited  the  cross  on  which  his  di* 
vine  Master  was  about  to  suffer  again,  in  the  person  of  his  vicar. 
The  constant  tradition  of  the  faithful  at  Kome  attests  the  truth  of 
the  apparition  of  our  Lord ;  and  St.  Ambrose,  in  his  discourse  against 
Auxentius,  alludes  to  it."  (Jb) 

Nor  are  these  the  only  evidences  which  we  have  of  the  residence  of 
the  apostle  in  the  holy  city.  The  pictoriai  catalogue  of  the  popes, 
as  well  as  the  mural  and  other  inscnptions,  all  testify  to  the  8am» 
fact.  This  everlasting  pointing  to  the  history  of  St.  Peter,  this  ina- 
bility to  separate  the  city  and  the  apostles,  give  us  additional  proof, 
if  it  be  needed,  of  the  residence  of  the  apostle  in  the  holy  city. 
No  other  city  claims  the  honors  which  Kome  monopolizes,  of  having 


(a)  Nel!gan*s  Rome,  pp.  99,  7Q> 


(ft)  Ibid.,  p.  971. 


40 


THE  TEAOHnrOS,  A0T8,  AHl> 


8t.  Peter,  the  prince  of  the  apostles,  as  its  first  bishop.  The  worW 
knows,  and  it  has  always  known,  that  Rome  was  the  city  sig- 
nally favored  by  God  and  St  Peter,  and  that  there  is  no  possibility 
of  oppOiiing  the  prescription  which  Rome  can  urge  in  its  favor. 
*  We  must  remember,"  wiites  one  who  seems  to  have  examined  these 
matters  with  impartiality,  "that  St.  Peter  was  crucified  on  this  hill, 
but  waa  buried  at  the  Vatican."  I  should  be  inclined  to  believe  the 
latter  tradition,  and  perhaps  the  former  may  also  be  true ;  but  the 
place  of  his  interment  is  mora  likely  to  have  been  kept  in  remem- 
brance than  tha..  of  his  suflfering.  Even  some  Catholic  writers 
have  differed  as  to  the  precise  spot  where  he  was  crucified.  Euse* 
bins  appeals  to  a  constant  tradition  that  St.  Peter  was  buried  in  a 
cemetery  at  the  Vatican,  and  quotes  the  authority  of  Caius,  who 
lived  in  the  early  part  of  the  third  century. 

"  Some  writers  have  thought  it  necessary  to  deny  that  St.  Peter 
was  ever  at  Romei  I  confess  I  am  utterly  at  a  loss  to  see  what 
great  advantage  is  given  to  Catholics  by  allowing  their  first  pope  to 
have  resided  at  Rome.  But,  at  all  events,  truth  is  to  be  prefen*ed 
to  prejudica  ....  After  examining  the  evidence  produced  by  Ba- 
ronius,  the  conclusion  seems  irresistible,  that  St.  Peter  undoubtedly 
visited  Rome,  and  suffered  martyrdom  there.  The  only  question  is 
concerning  the  period  of  his  residence.  It  used  to  be  maintained 
that  he  held  the  see  of  Rome  for  twenty-five  years.  .  .  .  The  only 
ancient  authors  that  can  be  quoted  as  asserting  it,  are  Eusebius  and 
Jeroma  .  .  .  We  read  in  the  Chronicle  of  Eusebius,  in  the  year  43, 
thrt  Peter,  after  founding  the  Church  of  Antioch,  was  sent  to  Rome, 
where  he  preaclied  the  gospel  for  twenty-five  years,  and  was  bishop 
of  that  city."  (a)  Such  was  the  language  of  one  who  looks  upon  the 
fact  of  St.  Peter's  being  at  Rome  as  indisputable ;  for  the  evidence 
which  establishes  it  is  too  plain  to  be  avoided  or  rejected.  The  re- 
jection would  involve,  as  this  writer  insinuates,  the  rejection  of  all 
authentic  history ;  as  to  the  difficulty  on  which  he  seems  to  dwell, 
it  has  already  been  shown  to  be  of  no  avail ;  for  no  Catholic  writer 
ever  pretended  that  St  Peter  remained  at  Rome  during  the  period 
of  twenty-five  years,  without  leaving  it,  although  he  had  established 


(a)  Barton,  H.  E.  b.  ii.,  e.  35. 


^w^^ 


UFB  OF  ST.  PBTBB, 


le  world 

city  sig- 
ssibility 
ts  favor, 
led  these 
this  hill, 
lieve  the 
but  the 
remem- 
3  writers 
.  Euse* 
ried  in  a 
ius,  who 

St.  Peter 
aee  what 
i  pope  to 
jreferi'ed 
d  by  Ba- 
jubtedly 
lestion  is 
intained 
he  only 
Aua and 
year  43, 
o  Rome, 
s  bishop 
upon  the 
evidence 
There- 
in of  all 
o  dwell, 
c  writer 
e  period 
ftblisBed 


his  epfsoopal  see  there.  All  suppose  he  did  not  remain  there ;  and  if 
they  allow  that  he  was  the  bishop  for  upwards  of  twenty-five  yeara^ 
notwithstanding  he  was  absent  during  many  years,  they  maintain  it 
on  precisely  the  same  pounds  as  they  ascribe  twenty-three  years  of 
spiritual  sovereignty  to  Pius  VI.,  and  also  to  Pius  VII.,  though 
each  of  these  popes  was,  for  a  considerable  time,  in  exile  in  a  for^ 
eign  land,  far  away  from  the  city  whence  they  derived  the  title  of 
Boman  Pontiff. 

Dc'Jinger,  in  his  work  called  The  Beginnings  of  Christianity,  ex- 
plains the  difficulties  connected  with  the  chronology  in  the  following 
manner :  "  Following,"  he  says, "  the  unanimous  tradition  of  Chris* 
tian  antiquity,  the  apostle  Peter  was  crucified  at  Kome,  after  having 
governed  the  Church  there,  in  quality  of  bishop,  and  transmitted  to 
his  successors,  with  the  Boman  episcopate,  the  primacy  which  Christ 
h-  f  iferred  upon  him.  As  to  the  time  Of  his  arrival  at  Bome,  and 
iti'  luration  of  his  episcopate  in  that  city,  opinions  are  very  diverg- 
ing, and  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  the  data  of  the  ancients  on  this 
point  otherwise  than  by  admitting  that  the  prince  of  the  apostles 
was  twice  in  the  capital  of  the  world. 

"  His  first  abode  would  fall,  according  to  Eusebius,  St.  Jerome,  and 
Orosius,  in  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Claudius,  the  forty-second 
of  the  Christian  era,  an  epoch  in  which  St.  Peter  would  have  gone 
to  have  stopped  the  seductions  of  Simon  the  Magician,  and  would 
there  have  established  the  foundations  of  a  church." 

Then,  being  included  in  the  edict  of  banishment  which  Claudius 
had  promulgated  against  the  Jews,  he  must  quickly  have  left  the 
capital  of  the  world  for  Jerusalem,  where  he  was  overtaken  by  the 
persecution  of  Agrippa.  It  would  seem  that  he  afterwards  under* 
took  a  more  extensive  apostolical  journey  to  Asia  Minor,  and  found- 
ed, or  visited,  the  churches  of  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  and 
Bithynia,  to  which  he  addressed  later  his  evangelical  letter  from 
Bome.  St,  Jerome,  however,  assigns  this  excursion  into  Asia  Minor 
to  a  period  anterior  to  the  apostle's  first  visit  to  Bome,  somewhat 
later  than  St.  Peter  went  to  Antioch,  and  thence  to  the  synod  of 
Jerusalem.  Under  the  reign  of  Nero  he  went  to  Bome  for  the  sec- 
ond ftme,  where  he  suffered  with  Paul,  in  the  year  66,  the  death  of 
a  martyr.  Itisof  this  Journey  that  Lactantius  speaks.  Thus  may  be 


49 


THE  TBACOaONQB,  AOTBi  AWD 


•xplafned  {he  t^toty-five  years  of  episcopacy  which  are  assigned 
by  St  ^3rome  and  Eusebius.  There  is  an  interval  of  twenty-five 
years  from  the  second  year  of  Claudius  to  vihe  last  year  of  Nero's 
reign.  As  f"  •  a  continuous  residence  of  twenty-five  years'  duration 
at  Rome,  i     «  was  never  mentioned  by  any  person  whatever."  (a) 

One  m  argument  in  confirmation  of  what  has  already  been  ad< 
▼anced  remains  yet  to  be  stated.  This  argument  proceeds  on 
the  authority  of  those  fathers  of  the  Church,  who  uniformly  assert 
that  St.  Mark  was  the  interpreter  of  Si  Peter,  and  that  he  wrote  at 
Rome  what  he  heard  Si  Peter  say,  in  his  addresses  to  the  converted 
Jews  in  that  city.  On  this  point  very  clear  evidence  can  be  ad- 
duced. Clement  of  Alexandria  has  delivered  to  us  the  following 
tradition,  as  derived  from  the  oldest  proselytes.  He  says, "  that  the 
Gospel  of  Si  Mark  was  occasioned  in  the  following  manner :  when 
Peter  had  proclaimed  the  word  publicly  at  Rome,  and  declared  the 
gospel  under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit,  «s  there  was  a  great  number 
present, they  requested  Mark,  who  had  followed  him  from  afar,  and 
remembered  well  what  he  had  said,  to  reduce  these  things  to  writ- 
ing ;  and,  after  composing  the  Gospel,  he  gave  it  to  those  who  re- 
quested it  of  him.'*(i) 

Papias  tellp  us  that  what  he  records,  he  had  received  from  the 
friends  of  the  apostles,  and  he  makes  the  following  statement,  on  the 
authority  of  John  the  presbyter:  **Mark  being  the  interpreter  of 
Peter,  whatsoever  he  recorded  he  wi-ote  with  great  accuracy,  but 
not,  however,  in  the  order  in  which  it  was  spoken  or  done  by  our 
Lord ;  for  he  neither  heard  nor  followed  our  Lord,  but,  as  before 
said,  he  was  in  company  with  Peter,  who  gave  him  such  instruction 
as  was  necessary."  (o) 

"Mark,** says  St. Jerome,** the  disciple  and  interpreter  of  Peter, 
at  the  solicitation  of  the  brethren  at  Rome,  wrote  a  short  gospel,  ao 
cording  to  what  he  had  heard  Peter  state,  which,  when  Peter  had 
heard,  he  approved,  and  delivered  to  the  Church  to  be  read  by  his 
authority,  as  Clement  writes  in  the  6th  book  of  the  Hypotypcses ; 
and  Papias,  the  Bishop  of  Hieropolis,  makes  mention  of  this  Mark, 
as  Peter  does  also^in  his  first  Epistle,  designate  Rome  figuratively, 


by  the! 

salutet] 
Eus^ 
having! 
was  so( 
greatl] 
Si  Pete 
receive! 
vered 
panionj 
them 
writing 
vailed ' 
which  i 
that  St 
of  the 
these  m 
pose  of 
This 
tions,  w 
Hierop< 
which  1 
and  th{ 
Babylo 
salutetl 
The 
Rome, 
fact.     . 
Corintl 
of  Ale: 
Rufinu 
bins,  0 
timonj 
ment  i 
»i  Roi 


(«)  Vol.  I.,  p.  to.  (&)  Eusebius,  I.  vi.,  e.  14.         (e)  Ibid.,  I.  iil,  e.  Sft. 


( 


XilFB  OF  ST.  PETER. 


48 


by  the  name  of  Babylon.    The  church  which  is  in  Babylon .... 
Baluteth  you,  and  so  doth  my  son  Mark."  (a) 

Eusebius  writes  as  follows  on  this  subject:  ''The  divine  word 
having  thus  been  established  among  the  Romans,  the  power  of  Simon 
was  soon  extinguished  and  destroyed,  together  with  the  man.  So 
greatly,  however,  did  the  splendor  of  piety  enlighten  the  mind  of 
St  Peter^s  hearers,  that  it  w^as  not  sufficient  to  hear  but  once,  nor  to 
receive  the  unwiitten  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  of  God,  but  they  perse- 
vered in  every  variety  of  entreaties  to  solicit  Mark,  as  the  com- 
panion of  Peter,  and  whose  Gospel  we  have,  that  he  should  leave 
them  a  monument  of  the  doctrine,  thus  orally  communicated,  in 
writing.  Nor  did  they  cease  their  solicitations  until  they  had  pre- 
vailed with  the  man,  and  thus  become  the  means  of  that  history 
which  is  called  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Mark.  They  say,  also, 
that  St  Peter  having  ascertained  what  was  done,  by  the  revelation, 
of  the  Spirit,  was  delighted  with  the  zealous  ardor  expressed  by 
these  men  and  that  the  history  obtained  his  authority,  for  the  ^ur^ 
pose  of  being  read  in  the  churches." 

This  account  is  given  by  Clement,  in  the  6th  book  of  his  Institu- 
tions, whose  testimony  is  corroborated  by  that  of  Papias,  Bishop  of 
Hieropolis ;  but  Peter  makes  mention  of  Mark  in  the  first  Epistle, 
which  he  is  also  said  to  have  composed  at  the  same  city  of  Rome, 
and  that  he  shows  this  fact  by  calling  the  city  by  an  unusual  trope, 
Babylon ;  thus, "  The  church  at  Babylon,  elected  together  with  you, 
saluteth  you,  as  doth  also  my  son  Marcus."  (J) 

The  evidence  already  adduced  respecting  St.  Peter's  residence  at 
Rome,  is  such  that  no  unprejudiced  person  can  ai\y  longer  doubt  the 
fact.  It  has  been  shown  that  Papias,  Clement,  Caius,  Dionysius  of 
Corinth,  Ireneus,Tertullian,Origen,  Lactantius,  Eusebius,  and  Peter 
of  Alexandria,  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  Epiphanius,  Ambrose,  Jerome, 
Rufinus,  Austin,  Optatus  of  Melvis,  Egysippus,  Theudoret  Am- 
bins,  Orosius,  Innocent,  Gelasius,  Philastrius  of  Brixia,  all  beartes 
timony  to  this  fact,  that  Peter  visited  Rome ;  or,  to  state  the  argu 
ment  in  other  words,  the  representatives  of  the  illustrious  churches 
if  Rome,  Alexandria,  Jerusalem,  Corinth,  Antioch,  and  Milan,  of 


(a)  De  Scrip.  Eco.,  p.  281. 


(ft)  EoBebius,  1.  !i.  o.  16. 


44 


THE  TVAOHIirOS,  A0T8,  AlTD 


Italy,  Gaulf  Africa,  Phrygia,  Palestine,  and  Spain,  all  testify,  openly 
and  unhesitatingly,  to  the  fact  of  I^eter's  residence  in  the .  eternal 
city ;  not  one  of  them  speaks  doubtin£^>y,  not  one  refers  to  it  as  a  mere 
report,  not  one  makes  use  of  language  which  could  lead  us  to  im« 
agine  that  a  doubt  had  ever  been  whispered  in  his  hearing  opposed 
to  this  statememl  lie  testimony  is  unequivocal,  nor  is  there  a  writer 
of  antiquity  whv  ..ys  one  word  in  maintenance  of  an  opposite  opin* 
ion ;  all  who  refer  to  the  see  of  Peter,  and  to  the  place  of  his  death, 
speak  of  Borne  as  the  apostolic  see  and  the  city  of  his  martyrdom. 
Whilst  silence  on  this  head  would  not  have  militated  against  the  fact, 
the  positive  testimony  already  adduced  must  be  admitted  as  decisive 
of  the  question ;  add  to  this  chain  of  patristic  evidence  the  local 
facts  which  have  already  been  mentioned,  and  in  consequence  of 
which  Rome  became,  from  the  earliest  ages,  the  resort  of  pilgrims 
of  every  grade  and  from  every  quarter  of  the  world,  and  the  fact 
can  no  longer  be  doubted,  that  Si.  Peter  was  at  Kome,  and  bishop 
of  that  see  for  twenty-five  years,  and  suffered  martyrdom  there,  a.d. 
66,  being  crucified  with  his  head  downwards.  8ome  writers  affirm 
that  he  was  then  eighty-six  years  old. 


CHAPTER  XLVIL 


8VOOK8SIOV   or    THB    POPES. — ST.    PETER   THE     CHIEF   OF   THE    APOSTLES.— MARTTR- 

DOM   OF   BS.    PETER  AND    PAUL. 


WAS  if 


That  St.  Peter  was  bishop  of  Rome  has  been  clearly  proved  from 
the  writings  of  Ireneus,  TertuUian,  Optatus,  Jerome,  Rufinus,  Chrys- 
ostora,  Thepdoret,  and  Innocent.  Not  only  do  these  writers  state  that 
St.  Peter  was  at  Rome,  but  they  likewise  inform  us  that  he  founded 
and  governed  the  Church  in  that  city;  Eusebius  and  St.  Jerome 
affirm  that  he  governed  it  during  the  space  of  twenty-five  years. 
The  See  of  Rome  has  been  known  in  ancient  as  well  as  in  modern 
times  as  the  see  of  Peter,  and  has  heen  called  so  under  the  titles 
•  of  the  see  of  Peter,  Peter's  chair,  the  holy,  the  apostolic  see.'* 
These  are  the  ordinary  words  hy  which  it  is  designated  now,  so  also 


LIFB  Of  8T.  PETEB. 


45 


WAS  it  wont  to  be  called  in  olden  times.  Rome,  as  St  Cypnan  ex- 
presses it,  is  the  chair  of  Peter,  and  to  this  chair,  all  like  St  Jeromt 
had  recourse  in  trouble.  Though  Antioch  had  been  ruled, by  Peter 
for  seven  years,  it  was  not  in  after  ages  called  the  see  of  Peter ; 
though  Jerusalem  and  i)tuer  cities  could  boast  of  sees  established  by 
apostles  and  apostolic  men,  not  one  of  these  was  called  continuously 
the  holy  see,  the  apostolical  see.  These  terms  and  those  of  like  im> 
port,  are  applied  to  Rome,  and  to  Rome  exclusively.  The  fathers 
and  other  ecclesiastical  writers  have  left  us  catalogues  of  the  popes 
of  the  see  of  Eome.  The  lists  of  the  principal  sees  were  kept  with 
the  greatest  care,  and  to  them  all  members  of  the  Church  appealed 
when  establishing  their  own  claims,  or  A^hen  they  wished  to  disprove 
the  claims  of  heresy  to  apostolicity.  Look  at  our  records,  they  were 
wont  to  say ;  see  how  we  can  ascend  from  prelate  to  prelate  until 
we  arrive  at  either  an  apostle  or  one  directly  sent  by  an  apostle ; 
show  your  lists  that  prove  your  Church  to  be  apostolical,  and  since 
the  Roman  Church  was,  of  all  others  the  most  illustrious,  the  most 
honored,  and  the  best  known,  and  the  Church  with  which  all  were 
in  communion,  hence  it  happened  that  to  it  more  frequent  appeals 
were  made  than  to  any  other  church.  At  the  head  of  the  list  of  its 
bishops  the  name  of  Peter  is  always  distinctly  placed,  as  appears 
from  the  catalogues  which  are  furnished  by  Eusebius  and  by  Epi- 
phanius.  "  Eusebius,"  writer  Linus  "  whom  he  (Paul)  has  mentioned 
in  his  2d  Epistle  to  Timothy,  as  his  companion  at  Rome,  hns  been 
shown  to  have  been  the  first  after  Peter  who  obtained  the  episcopate 
at  Rome. . .  .In  the  second  year  of  Titus's  reign,  Linus,  bishop  of 
this  Church,  U  proved  by  Paul  to  have  been  a  fellow-laborer  and 
fellow-soldier  with  hira. . . .  After  Evaristus  had  completed  the  eighth 
year  as  Pope  of  Rome^  he  was  succeeded  in  the  episcopal  office  by 
Alexander,  fifth  in  succession  from  Peter  and  PauV(a)  Epiphanius's 
list  is  more,  complete  than  this :  "  the  succession  of  the  Popes  of 
Rome  was  in  the  following  order:  Peter  and  Paul,  Cletus,  Clem 
ent,  Evanstus,  Alexander,  Xystus,  Telesphorus,  Hyginus,  Pius, 
Anicetus — the  same  named  by  me  above  as  in  the  list,  and  let 
no  one  wonder  that  we  have  gone  through  each  of  those  matters^ 


(a)  Eusebias,  t.  8,  e.  4. 


It 


THB  TSAOHIirOB,  AOTli  AKD 


for  hy  means  of  tBese  the  manifest  truth  is  pointed  out.^  (a)  Si 
Augustine  writes :  "  How  much  more  securely  and  beneficially  do 
we  reckon  from  Peter  himself,  to  whom,  bearing  the  figure  of  the 
Church,  the  Lord  says,  *upon  this  rock  I  will  build  ray  Church,  and 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  overcome  it.' "  {b)  St.  Optatus  makes  use 
of  nearly  the  same  language  as  St  Augustine,  and  says  Peter  filled 
the  pre-eminent  chair^  which  is  the  first  mark  (of  the  Church) ;  to 
him  succeeded  Linus,  to  Linus  succeeded  Clement,  to  Clement,  An- 

aclete "You  who  assign  to  yourselves  the  holy  chair,"  he 

adds,  "v(rriting  to  the  Donatists,  "  tell  us  the  origin  of  your  chair." 

St  Jerome  states,  in  his  work  on  ecclesiastical  writers :  "  Clem- 
ent, of  whom  the  apostle  Paul,  writing  to  the  Philippians,  says, 
*With  Clement,  and  with  others  my  fellow  laborere,  whose  names 
are  written  in  the  book  of  life,*  was  the  fourth  bishop  of  Rome 
after  St.  Peter,  for  the  second  was  Innus,  the  third  An%clete,  al- 
though many  Latins  think  that  Clement  was  the  second  after  the 
apontle  Peter."  (c) 

From  the  ancient  catalogues  and  pictorial  representations  we 
have  another  very  powerful  argument  not  only  of  St.  Peter's  being 
Pope  of  Rome,  but  also  of  his  being  pope  there  for  the  space 
of  twenty-five  years.  The  most  ancient  catalogue  we  have  on 
record  was  drawn  up  about  the  year  354,  during  the  pontificate  of 
Liberius,  from  which  circumstance  it  has  been  called  the  I  Jberian 
Catalogue.  It  begins  with  St.  Peter  and  ends  with  Liberius.  To 
St  Peter  it  assigns  twenty-five  years  of  episcopacy  at  Rome ;  and 
of  all  succeeding  pontiffs  named  therein,  with  the  exception  of  Li- 
berius, the  exact  term  of  possession  of  the  Roman  see  is  distinctly 
recorded. 

If  it  be  fisked  why  the  term  of  Liberius's  episcopacy  is  not 
given,  it  can  be  said  in  reply,  that  he  was  alive  when  that  list 
was  drawn  up.  This  presents  us  with  an  authority  anterior  to  the 
catalogue  of  St  Jerome,  and  yet  agreeing  completely  with  it 

Since  the  fourth  century  numerous  catalogues  have  been  drawn 
up,  some  of  greater  and  some  of  lesser  antiquity,  but  in  all  these 
6t  Peter  ever  stands  forth  as  the  first  Pontiff  of  Rome,  and, 


fbrth( 
episco| 
succee 
first  ol 
chair, ' 
is  this] 
explail 
aware 
imperij 
To 


(«)  BpiphMuus  adv.  Her.  t.  i.  p.  107.      (6)  St.  Aug.  t  viiL  e.  S69.      («)  V.  9B9. 


UFB  OF  0T.  PBTBB. 


47 


flirthermore,  the  long  term  of  twenty-five  years  is  assigned  to  hii 
episcopacy ;  he  is  the  head,  the  leader,  the  founder,  of  the  pontifical 
succession  at  Rome.  Him  the  popes  of  all  nations  look  upon  as  the 
first  of  the  Koman  line.  It  matters  not  who  occupies  the  apostolic 
chair,  or  to  what  nation  he  belongs,  the  statement  which  he  makei 
is  this,  that  he  is  a  successor  of  Si  Peter.  This  fact  can  be  only 
explained  in  one  way — by  acknowledging  that  the  whola  world  was 
aware  and  convinced  of  the  fact  of  St  Peter  having  been  bishop  of 
imperial  Rome. 

To  give  the  catalogue  in  detail  of  the  Roman  pontiffs,  would  not 
seem  necessary  in  a  brief  sketch  like  the  present,  as  it  may  be  found 
in  a  very  interesting  and  learned  work  published  a  few  years  ago 
by  the  Benedictines  of  ^olesmes.  In  this  work  the  reader  will  find 
the  antiquity  of  each  catalogue  learnedly  and  clearly  established. 
There  is,  however,  one  catalogue  to  which  it  may  be  interesting  to 
make  some  allusion. 

In  the  famous  Basilica  of  St.  Paul,  on  the  Ostian  Way,  which 
was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  15th  of  July,  1823,  but  which  has  now 
been  rebuilt  with  a  degi-ee  of  magnificence  which  rivals  its  ancient 
splendor,  was  to  be  seen  a  pictoiial  list  of  the  pontiffs,  together  with 
a  record  of  the  duration  of  each  pontifl^'s  government  This  list  was 
begun  as  early  at  least  as  the  time  of  Leo  the  Great,  (440,)  or,  as 
others  will  have  it,  as  early  as  423,  and  to  it  additions  had  constant* 
ly  been  made  down  to  the  present  time.  This  catalogue  of  the 
popes,  like  the  others,  begins  with  St.  Peter,  and  the  following  rae« 
moiial  was  afiixed  to  his  likeness :  "  Petrus  sed.  ann.  25,  m.  2, 
d.  27."    Peter  sat  [in  this  see]  25  yeara,  2  months,  and  27  days. 

From  all  that  has  been  said  the  conclusion  is  plain,  that  St  Peter 
was  not  only  bishop  at  Rome,  but  that  he  was  also  bishop  of  Rome 
for  a  lengthened  period,  and  also  that  the  fact  is  better  supported 
than  the  histones  of  the  Caesars,  the  Assueruses,  the  Herods,  and 
the  Etheldreds  who  have  ruled  nations.  Let  any  one  endeavor  to 
fix  the  chronology  of  the  reigns  of  these  sovereigns,  and  he  will 
soon  find  that  the  evidences  which  he  will  be  able  to  adduce  in 
favor  of  his  system  will  not  be  half  so  respectable,  or  so  ancient,  or 
so  abundant,  as  that  which  has  been  adduced  in  proof  of  St.  Petei'i 
journey  to  Rome,  and  living  there  as  bishop  of  the  eternal  d^, 


•  -TH 


49  Tm  Tiicniiras,  kcn,  um 

Tbe  oondusioii  wMcb  follows  from  the  fact  of  St.  Peter  being 
bishop  of  Rome  is  important,  and  one  which  every  Catholic  looks 
upon  as  the  foundation  of  his  faith  ;  for  if  St.  Peter  was  bishop  of 
Rome  he  was  also  head  of  the  entire  Church,  the  ruler  of  the  spir. 
itual  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  shepherd  of  a  mighty  flock.  To  the 
truth  of  this  Scripture  and  history  alike  bear  evidence.  To  one 
possessed  of  faith  it  appears  clear  that  there  is  hardly  one  truth 
—certainly  that  one  truth  would  not  be  either  the  mystery  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  or  the  Divinity  of  God  the  Son,  who  became  incarnate 
for  our  sakes, — more  clearly  referred  to,  and  indeed  expressed,  in 
Holy  Writ,  than  the  supremacy  of  St.  Peter. 

As  Bossuet  well  observes,  **  Peter  appears  the  first  in  every  way, 
the  first  in  making  profession  of  faith,  the  first  in  the  obligation  of 
exercising  charity,  the  first  of  all  the  apostles  who  saw  our  Saviour 
risen  from  the  dead,  as  he  was  also  the  first  to  witness  before  the 
people,  the  firat  when  there  was  question  of  filling  up  the  number 
of  the  apostles,  the  first  to  confirm  the  faith  by  a  mii-acle,  the  first 
to  convert  the  Jews,  the  first  to  receive  the  Gentiles,  the  first  eveiy* 
where ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  say  all.    Eveiy  thing  concurs  in 

establishing  his  primacy.    Yes,  every  thing  even  his  faults 

The  power  given  to  several  is  not  bestowed  without  restriction, 
whilst  that  given  to  one  alone,  and  over  all,  and  without  exception, 
is  communicated  in  full.  ,  .  ,  ,  All  receive  the  same  power,  but 
not  in  the  same  degree,  nor  to  the  same  extent.  Jesus  Christ  be- 
gins with  the  first,  and  in  this  first  he  develops  all  the  rest 

in  order  to  teach  us  that  ecclesiastical  authority,  first  established  in 
the  person  of  one,  has  only  been  disseminated  on  condition  of  being 
always  recalled  to  its  principle  of  unity,  and  that  all  those  who 
shall  have  to  exercise  it  ought  to  hold  themselves  inseparably  united 
to  the  same  chair :  it  is  that  chair  so  celebrated  by  the  fathers  of 
the  Church,  in  exalting  which  they  have  vied  with  one  another, 
attributing  to  it  the  principality  of  the  apostolic  chair,  the  chief 
principality,  the  source  of  unity,  the  highest  degree  of  sacerdotal 
dignity,  the  mother  church,  which  holds  in  her  hand  the  conduct  of 
all  other  churches,  the  head  of  the  episcopate  whence  proceeds  the 
light  of  government,  the  principal  chair,  the  only  chair,  through 
which  alone  all  are  able  to  preserve  unity.     In  these  words  you 


UFB  OF  HT. 


•  •  •  • 


•  •  •  • 


hear  6t  Optatus,  Si  Augustine,  St.  Cyprian,  St  Ineneae,  Si  Pro»^ 
per.  Si  Aritus,  Si  Theodoret,  the  Council  of  Cbalcedon,  and  th« 
other  councils,  Africa,  Gaul,  Greece,  Asia,  the  East,  and  the  West, 

united  together. Since  it  was  the  design  of  God  to  permit 

that  there  should  arise  heresies  and  schisms,  there  was  no  constitu 
tion  thai  could  sustain  itself  more  firmly  or  more  powerfully  bear 
them  down.  By  this  constitution  every  thing  in  the  Church  U 
strong,  because  every  thing  therein  is  divine  and  united,  and  as 
each  part  is  divine,  the  bond  also  is  divine,  and  all  together  is  sucli, 
that  each  pari  acts  with  the  power  of  the  whole."  (a) 

But  for  the  Catholic  reader  there  is  no  need  to  dwell  on  this 
point,  for  he  knows  that  if  this  supremacy  be  destroyed,  the  source 
of  unity  and  jurisdiction  is  gone,  and  the  Church  of  the  world  is  rent 
asunder ;  establish  it  and  the  world  is  Catholic. 

Well  may  the  fathers  apply  the  following  titles  to  Si  Peter:  "  th* 
Bolid  rock,"  "  the  great  foundation,"  **  to  him  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
were  granted,"  "to  him  the  sheep  were  assigned,  and  he  is  the  uni 
versal  shepherd,"  "he  is  the  pillar  of  the  Church,  the  buttress,  and 
th(^  rincipal,  and  the  source  of  unity,"  "  he  is  the  eye  of  the  apos 
ties,"  "the  mouth  of  the  apostles,"  "the  tongue  of  the  apostles,'* 
**  the  head  of  the  apostles,"  "  the  highest  of  the  apostles,"  "  the  coiy 
pheus  of  the  choir  of  the  apostles,"  "  the  prince  of  the  apostles,*' 
"  a  leader  to  his  own  brethren,"  "  the  one  chosen  out  of  the  twelve," 
"  the  one  preferred  before  all,"  "  the  only  one  who  has  the  "primacy 
of  the  apostleship,  and  the  primacy  over  the  universal  Church," 
**  he  is  set  over  the  whole  habitable  globe,"  "  he  is  the  fisherman 
of  the  universe,"  "he  represents  the  whole  Church,"  "in  fine,  he 
has  received  the  sovereignty." 

Such  is  the  language  which  the  fathers  have  applied  to  the 
prince  of  the  apostles.  Language  like  this  cannot  be  equivocal ; 
for  it  is  the  language  of  the  eastern  and  western  churches,  respecting 
the  supremacy  of  Si  Peter  and  his  being  the  vicar  of  Christ  on 
earth. 

Already  has  the  death  of  St.  Peter  been  spoken  of,  and  the  man- 
ner of  it  been  described  ;  somethiug  shall  now  be  said  about  the 


^-.-'J 


(a)  Bossaet,  Sermon  Bar  I'TTnit^,  part  i. 


m-TSs"- 


00 


Tn  nuoHnrcw,  Aon,  avd  un  of  vr. 


r;  V 


death  of  8t  PanL  "St  Peter  and  Si  Paul  were  shut  up  in  the 
Mamertiue  Prison,  in  the  month  of  October,  66,  and  were  both 
taken  out* on  the  29th  of  June,  a.  d.  66 ;  they  passed  through  the 
gate  Trigemina,  when  the  lictors  separated  them,  according  to  the 
orders  which  they  had  received.  St.  Peter  was  brought  to  the 
Vatican,  where  he  was  crucified,  and  St.  Paul  commenced  his  jour* 
ney  to  the  Salvian  Waters,  where  he  was  beheaded.  It  is  in  the 
church  dedicated  to  St.  Paul,  where  he  was  martyred.  In  the 
church  &re  three  springs  of  water,  which  miraculously  gushed  forth 
from  the  earth  where  the  head  of  the  apostle  touched  it.  In  an 
angle  is  the  column  to  which  the  apostle  was  bound  when  he  was 
beheaded.  Near  it  is  the  altar  of  the  saint,  ornamented  with  col- 
umns of  black  poiphyry.  As  the  apostle  was  led  to  the  place 
where  he  was  martyred,  he  converted  three  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
escort,  who  where  martyred  three  days  afterward.  As  his  head  was 
cut  off,  instead  of  blood  flowing  from  the  body  a  stream  of  milk 
issued  from  it,  which  covered  the  ground  and  the  lictor ;  the  head 
made  three  bounds,  and  three  fountains  sprung  up  where  it  touched 
the  earth,  each  still  preserving  a  different  temperature. 

After  the  execution  Plautilla  covered  the  head  of  the  apostle 
in  her  veil,  and  buried  it  in  a  catacomb  of  Lucina  on  the  Ostian 
Way,  and  his  body  was,  by  the  careful  attention  of  Lucina,  after- 
wards conveyed  to  the  same  spot.  At  the  same  moment  the  priest 
Marcellus  was  giving  a  royal  sepulture  to  St.  Peter,  who  had  been 
crucified  on  the  heights  of  the  Vatican. 

On  the  spot  where  the  apostles  separated  before  their  execution, 
there  is  erected  n  small  chapel,  with  an  inscription  alluding  to  this 
circumstance.  Dionysius,  in  his  Epistle  to  Timothy,  speaks  of  this 
separation  of  the  apostles,  and  also  of  the  words  they  addressed  to 
each  other.  Paul  said  to  Peter :  "  Peace  be  with  thee,  foundation 
of  the  Church  and  pastor  of  the  lambs  of  Christ ;"  and  Peter  said  to 
Paul :  "  Go  in  peace,  preacher  of  the  good  and  guide  of  the  salvation 
of  the  just"  (a) 

(a)  Ne]igan*s  Bome,  pp.  266  -269. 


«  M!a 


*#^ 


4,    1. 


3rt  J^TRICJC  GQING  TO  TAR^, 


I.i 


^ 


Thb  a 
trate  at* 
land. 

Her« 
victorioi 
was  nev< 
nor  upoi 

Saved 
extortion 
pie  foiin( 
shrouded 

ButB( 


...,  ^ 


/  r 


LIFE    OF 


f  ,■: 


i: 


SAINT    PATRICK 


»«  *  ■  *  <« 


CHAPTER  1. 


A.D.  887— DIBD  A.D.  465. 

nBIBTIAVITT  III  IBBLAIID  BBfOBB  IT.  FATBIOK'B  MISSION  — BT.  PATBIOX  BOBM  MBAB 
BOULOOHX-dtTB-lf  m.  PinAnOT,  IN  OACL— Hlfl  OAFTnTTTT  BT  KTKfl  mAIJV— HI  BBOOlOf 
THB  BliATB  OW  MnX3HU  MACCDBOIH,  IH  THB  OOUim  ANTUIM— MILOHO'S  TISIOH  UTBB 
FRBTBD  BT  PATRICK— ADMOMIilHBD  IK  A  TIBIOM  TO  FLT— TUAVBLS  ACB0B8  IBBLAND  TC 
V  THB  BOrTB,  WnBRB  HB  FOTTITD  A  SniP  ABOUT  BAILING — HB  RBACHES  OAUL— HB  HIKAC 
DLOTIBLT  FBOOVBBB  FOOD  FUR  EI8  BTARTINO  COMPANIONS— HIS  8BC0ND  OAPTIVITT— AK 
AHABL  rOBBTBLLB  HIB  RBIjBABB— HBARB  THB  VOIOR  OF  THB  IRISH  CALLIN8  ON  HIM  TO 
com  TO  TBBK— HIB  TISIONB— BBC0MB4  A  8TUDBNT  OF  ST.  OBRMANUB,  BISHOP  09 
AUXBRRB— yum  BBVBRAL  islands  in  THB  MBDITBRRANBAM  to  PBRFBOT  HIM8BLF  IB 
MONABTIO  DIBCIPUNB  AND  CONYBRBB  WITH  HOLT  HBRUtT8--THB  HBRHIT  JI78TUB  OITBB 
Hm  A  BTAIV  WHICH  0HBI8T  LBFT  IN  CHAUOB  TO  HIM  FOB  BT.  PATRICK— IT8  HIBTOBT 
AND  VATB— GOBI  TO  BBITAIN  TO  BBFUTB  TUB  PBLAUIAN  HBHE8T  WITH  BS.  GBIUIANIIB 
ANDLCPmh- IVBBOOXMBNDBDTO  POPBCBLBSTINE  BT  BT.  OBBMANUB  AS  AS8I8TANT  TO 
PAUiADIUI— eOaS  to  bomb— HIB  RBTURN— HBARB  of  THB  FAaUBB  AND  DBATH  OP 
PALLADIVl— IB  OONBBCKATSD  BIBHOP— 8TABT8  Ft)B  IBBXAND— HIB  MISSION  IN  SBBAl 
BRITAIN. 

The  ann8  of  proud  imperial  Rome,  which  laid  the  world  pros- 
trate at  the  feet  of  the  Gnsars,  were  never  able  to  penetrate  Ir& 
land. 

Her  sons  were  never  dragged  after  the  chariot-wheels  of  hei 
victorious  generals,  or  sold  as  slaves  in  her  markets.  Their  blood 
was  never  shed  in  the  gladitorial  arena  to  grace  a  Roman  holiday 
nor  upon  her  altars  to  consecrate  pagan  rites  and  sacrifices. 

Saved  from  the  licentiousness  of  a  mercenary  soldiery,  and  tht 
extortions  of  proconsuls  and  praitors,  the  genius  of  the  Irish  peo 
pie  found  a  full  development  when  other  nations  of  Europe  wort 
shrouded  in  the  darkness  and  ignorance  of  barbarism. 

But  Rome,  Christian  and  apostolic,  was  destined  to  extend  the 


ppp«iilippppi^ipniiipp^^ 


99 


UFM  OF  ST.  PATRICK. 


•oeptre  of  the  Gross  where  its  eagles  were  never  unfurled ;  and 
nations  bowed  in  ready  homage  before  this  peaceful  symbol  of 
man's  redemption  that  spurned  the  poww  and  greatness  of  hei 
mighty  armies.  The  Apostles  of  Some  and  their  disciples,  spread 
ing  Christianity  and  civilization  in  their  paths,  penetrated  where 
her  proudAst  armies  dared  not  set  foot,  and  gamed  victories  nobler 
far  than  those  achieved  by  her  greatest  generals. 

Among  this  saintly  cohort  of  Christian  soldiers  thwe  is  not 
one  whose  name  stands  higher  or  purer  than  that  of  Si  Patrick, 
the  Apostle  of  Ireland. 

That  Ireland  had  heard  the  preaching  of  the  Christian  faith 
before  St.  Patrick's  ministry,  is  admitted  by  the  most  competent 
writers  on  the  ecclesiastical  antiquities  of  the  country.  It  is  also 
certain  that  several  Christian  communities  existed,  chiefly  along 
the  coasts,  before  his  aiTival. 

The  time  and  place  of  St.  Patrick's  birth  has  been  warmly  dis- 
Gusaed  and  disputed  by  writers.  Though  Usher,  Ware,  Colgan, 
and  other  ancient  writers  state  that  he  was  a  native  of  Scotland 
this  has  been  Ailly  exploded  by  the  research  and  learning  of  Dr. 
Lanigan,  who  has  proved  that  he  was  unquestionably  a  native  of 
Boulogne-sui-Mer,  in  France. 

In  his  Confessions,  written  by  St.  Patrick  himself,  he  states . 
"My  father  was  Calpumius,  a  deacon,  son  of  Potitus,  a  priest,  (1) 
of  the  town  of  Bonaven  Tabemisd.  He  had  near  the  town  a  small 
villa,  Enon,  where  I  was  made  captive." 

It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  there  has  been  no  place  of  the 
name  of  Bonaven  TabemisB  in  any  part  of  Britain  or  Scotland, 
but  Jocylin  and  other  writers,  who  wished  to  give  Scotland  the 
honor  of  his  birth,  try  to  get  out  of  this  difficulty  by  describing 
the  place  as  an  old  Roman  encampment  near  Dumbarton. 

Bonaven  Tabemiss  was  in  Armorio  Gaul,  being  the  same  as  the 
present  Boulogne-sur-Mer,  in  Picardy.  The  affix  TabemisB  simply 
means  that  Bonaven  was  in  that  district — ^as  we  would  now  say 
**  Albany,  New  York,"  or  "  Dublin,  Jreland,"  by  way  of  specify 

(1)  Bit  grandfttiiar  bdng  a  priest,  ib  uied  by  the  enemies  of  Catholicity  as  a  proof  thai 
priests  married  in  the  earl;  ages  of  the  Church.  In  all  cages  where  married  men  beeaae 
priests,  their  ^  ives  were  either  dead,  or  they  had  separated  by  mntoal  consent. 


ing  the 
bemiesJ 
city  ue^ 
model 
reason 
birth,  si 
or  with! 

Therj 
that  pi 
and 
fiioc  to 

Keati 
ancient 
St.  Patr 
from  Ai 
is  sustai 

Alltl 
supposit 
his  early 
youth. 

There 
Britaine, 
of  St  M 

All  tl 
leave  no 
our  read 
of  Lis  bi 
the  beat 

The  f  ( 
self  stat 
to  the  fl( 
wife  wei 
tion  of 


(l)Thi8 
OB  that  a  & 
a  boy  of  fii 
B87as«bat 
fear  of  his 


UFB  OF  ST.   PATBIOK. 


63 


bug  the  State  and  county  in  whicli  those  cities  are  situate!  Ta 
bernias,  or,  as  it  was  sometimes  called,  Tarvena,  was  a  celebrated 
city  near  Boulogne,  the  ruins  of  which  is  still  known  under  th* 
modem  name  of  Terowane.  It  id  probable  that  St.  Patrick' 
reason  for  adding  "  Tabernisd  "  was  lest  Bonaven,  the  place  of  hifc 
birth,  should  be  confounded  with  Bononia,  now  Bologna,  in  Italy 
or  with  Bononia,  in  Aquetain. 

There  is  still  an  ancient  tradition  among  the  inhs.bitants  of 
that  part  of  France  that  St.  Patrick  was  bom  in  their  country, 
and  that  he  was  bishop  of  Boulogne  before  he  went  on  his  mis 
Bioc  to  Ireland.  .  " 

Keating  in  his  History  of  Ireland  says:  "I  have  read  in  an 
ancient  Irish  manuscript,  whose  authority  I  can  not  dispute,  that 
St.  Patrick  and  his  two  sisters  were  brought  captive  into  Ireland 
from  Armorica,  or  Brittany,  in  the  kingdom  of  France ; "  which 
is  sustained  by  O'Flaherty  in  his  history. 

All  the  circumstances  connected  with  his  early  life  confirm  this 
supposition.  His  family  resided  in  Gaul — there  the  events  of 
his  early  life  took  place — there  he  was  taken  prisoner  in  his  early 
youth. 

There  was  in  Armorican  Gaul  at  that  period  a  district  called 
Britaine,  of  which  his  mother,  Gonchessa,  who  was  a  near  relative 
of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  was  a  native. 

All  these  circumstances,  combined  with  his  own  confession, 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  place  of  his  birth,  so  we  will  not  detain 
our  readers  with  a  longer  discussion  on  this  subject.  The  date 
of  iiis  birth  is  as  much  a  subject  of  controversy  as  the  place,  but 
the  beat  modem  writers  concur  in  placing  it  in  the  year  387.  (1) 

The  family  of  the  Apostle  was  respectable,  St.  Patrick  him- 
self states  in  his  Epistle  to  Caroticus :  "  I  was  noble  according 
to  the  flesh."  An  old  writer  informs  us  thrt  Galpumius  and  his 
wife  were  just  before  God,  walking  without  offence  in  the  justiflca 
tion  of  the  Lord,  and  they  were  eminent  in  their  birth,  and  it 


(1)  This  datum  it  oocflrined  by  the  fact  that  he  was  consecrated  in  432  when  he  tells 
OS  that  a  friend  reproached  him  with  a  sin  committed  tliirty  years  before,  when  he  was 
a  boy  of  fifteen.  This  would  make  him  forty-five  in  the  year  488,  which  gives  the  yeai 
887  as  that  of  his  birth.  He  was  captured  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  which,  added  to  thf 
fear  of  kii  blrh,  would  give  tho  yrar  408  as  that  of  his  captivity  by  Niall. 


64 


Um  OV  ST.  PATBIOE. 


Iheir  faith,  «nd  in  their  hope,  and  in  their  religion.  And  thongl 
in  their  outward  habit  and  abiding  they  seemed  to  ser^e  undei 
the  yoke  of  Babylon,  yet  did  they  in  their  acts  and  in  ineii  con 
renations  show  themselves  to  be  citizens  of  Jerusalem. 

St  Fiuch,  in  his  hj  nn,  informs  us  that  Patrick  was  baptised 
Buooat,  which  name,  .k  the  old  British  tongue,  signifies  ak'ong  in 
baitU  (1) 

The  scholiast  on  the  hymn  adds,  that  he  was  called  (Mhraig^ 
while  in  slavery,  on  account  of  being  sold  to  four  masters;  Mago- 
niua  by  St.  Germanus,  while  a  disciple  of  his;  and  Patrioh  by 
St.  Oelestine,  as  a  mark  of  dignity. 

As  he  never  styles  himself  in  his  writings  anything  but  Patrick, 
it  was  most  likely  his  original  name,  and  that  the  others  were  given 
him  indicating  certain  traits  in  his  character. 

Jocylin  and  other  writers  attribute  certain  miracles  to  him 
v^hile  a  youth,  such  as  the  restoring  sight  to  a  blind  man,  abat 
ing  a  violent  flood,  and  curing  his  sister  Lupita  from  the  effect« 
of  a  severe  wound ;  but  the  truth  is,  little  is  known  of  his  early 
years  until  he  was  brought  captive  into  Ireland.  lie  himself 
with  touching  humility,  sorrow,  and  extreme  delicacy  of  con 
science,  in  after  years,  in  his  Confessions,  thus  alludes  to  his 
youth 

*'  I  knew  not  God,  and  was  led  into  captivity  by  the  Irish,  as 
we  deserved,  because  we  estranged  ourselves  from  God,  and  did 
not  keep  His  laws,  and  were  disobedient  to  our  pastors,  who  ad- 
monished us  with  regard  to  our  salvation  ;  and  the  Lord  brought 
down  upon  us  the  anger  of  His  spirit,  and  dispersed  us  among 
many  nations,  even  to  the  extremity  of  the  earth,  where  my  low- 
liness was  conspicuous  among  foreigners,  and  where  the  Lord  dis- 
covered unto  me  a  sense  of  my  unbelief,  that,  even  though  late, 
I  should  be  converted  with  my  whole  heart  to  the  Lord  my  God, 
who  had  respect  to  my  humiliation,  and  pitied  my  youth  and  igno- 
rance, even  before  I  knew  Him,  and  before  I  was  wise  and  could 
distinguish  between  right  and  wrong,  and  strengthened  me  and 
cherished  me  as  a  father  would  a  son.    This  I  know  most  surely 

(1)  AmooI  ii  aomettmes  written  AmAot,  or  aocher.  which  jimim  mewkn«M,  M  «MAa<r 
o  Irish,  mfluis  morkneM  or  mildncM. 


bhat  bef 
the  mud 
me  up, 
from  the 
the  Lon 
mind  of 

As  w( 
more  ful 
St.  Patri< 
lianigan' 
ter  is  fu 
establish! 

How  Vi 
cribulatio 
He  suffer 
der  to  sa^ 
become  tl 
fered  himi 
ors,  and  le 
to  the  ligl 

The  wai 
Scotland  i 
treating  i 
tribes  thai 
of  <^ixteen. 

On  bein 
different  i 
named  Mi! 
&nd  dilige] 
in  that  pa 

Some  w 

•>art  of  tl 

ested  wit 

(1)  This  ez] 
the  time  act  d 
Oaol,  there  it 
hudi  of  the 
peditions. 


v.-  n*- 


UWm  Of  ST.  PATBICS. 


•6 


that  before  I  was  humbled  I  was  like  a  stone  whiob  lies  deep  in 
fche  mud ;  and  He  who  is  mighty  came  and  in  His  meroy  raised 
me  up,  and  again  delivered  me  and  fixed  me  in  His  plaoe ;  and 
from  thenoe  I  ought  boldly  to  oiy  out  and  to  return  thanks  to 
the  Lord  for  His  too  great  benefits,  here  and  forever,  which  the 
mind  of  man  can  not  properly  estimate." 

As  we  are  not  writing  a  polemical  work,  we  will  not  entei 
more  fully  into  the  ai'guments  relative  to  the  time  and  plaoe  <A 
St.  Patrick's  birth,  but  refer  tHe  curious  on  that  subject  to  Dr. 
lianigan's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,  where  the  whole  mat- 
ter is  fully  and  ably  discussed,  and  Boulogne*8ur-Mer,  in  Gaul, 
established  beyond  a  doubt  as  the  place  of  his  birth. 

How  wonderful  are  the  ways  of  God,  and  how  often  out  of 
tribulation  and  suffering  does  He  bring  forth  the  greatest  good. 
He  suffered  His  servant  Joseph  to  be  borne  into  captivity,  in  or- 
der to  save  Egypt  and  Israel  from  the  horrors  of  famme,  and  to 
become  the  Saviour  of  His  people.  So  with  Patrick,  the  Lord  suf- 
fered him  to  become  captive  that  he  might  conquer  his  conquer 
ors,  and  lead  his  enemies  out  of  the  bondage  of  sin  and  infidelity 
to  the  light  of  the  Gospel. 

The  warlike  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  having  passed  over  to 
Scotland  to  aid  his  kindred,  followed  the  Romans,  who  were  re* 
treating  from  Britain  to  defend  their  capital  against  the  fierce 
tribes  that  invaded  Italy,  into  Gaul,  where  Patrick,  then  a  youth 
of  -sixteen,  and  several  of  his  countrymen,  were  taken  captives.  (1) 

On  being  brought  into  Ireland,  he  was  obliged  to  serve  four 
different  masters,  who  were  most  likely  brothers.  One  of  these, 
oamed  Milcho  MacGuboin,  perceiving  that  the  youth  was  faithful 
and  diligent,  purchased  him  from  his  partners.  This  Milcho  lived 
in  that  part  of  Dalradia  dott  comprised  in  the  County  Antrim. 

Some  writers  state  that  he  was  a  prince  or  chieftain  of  that 

')art  of  the  country ;  others,  that  he  was  a  Magua — ^that  is,  in 

ested  with  some  religious  function.     Patrick  was  engaged  by 

(1)  ThiB  expedition  took  place  in  the  year  408.  which  period  does  not  well  agree  with 
the  time  act  down  by  aereral  historians.  That  Niall  and  his  successor,  Uathy,  (nraded 
Oaol,  there  is  onqnestionable  proof;  among  others,  there  are  andent  docnments  in  tht 
hands  of  the  noble  fiunily  of  Sales,  in  Piedmont,  which  oonilnn  the  troth  of  these  •» 
peditioas. 


fi6 


jLiai  ov  n.  PATBid. 


his  master  in  tending  sheep  on  or  near  the  mountain  of  Sliabh 
Mis,  in  the  Oounty  Antrim.  Here  a  captive,  in  a  strange  land 
far  from  his  native  country,  his  friends,  and  parents,  he  gi^^e  him 
jiell  up  to  the  contemplation  of  the  wild,  pi €tur« '<>>:! ue  &cener<;' 
around  him,  and  the  groatness  and  mercy  of  the  Lord  who  hm 
hitherto  protected  him.  The  Ohriatian  spirit  which  hud  boen 
oarefully  fostered  by  pious  parents  now  found  fu)I  vent  in  med 
itation,  prayer,  and  thanksgvring. 

Speaking  of  this  period  of  his  life  in  hh  Gonfessions,  h&  bujb  . 
"  My  constant  business  was  to  feed  the  flocks ;  I  \vm  frequent  m 
pmyer ;  th.e  love  and  fear  of  God  more  and  more  inflamed  m^ 
heart ;  my  f»\ith  was  enlarged.,  and  my  spirit  augmented,  so  that 
I  said  a  huudrcd  prayers  by  day,  and  almost  as  many  by  night. 
I  arose  before  iu.j  to  my  prayers,  in  the  snow,  in  the  frost,  in  the 
rain,  and  /et  I  received  no  damage ;  nor  was  I  affected  with 
ftiothfuiness ;  for  then  the  Spirit  of  God  was  warm  within  me." 

Gould  anything  be  more  simple,  touching,  or  ao  beautifully  \l 
harmony  with  true  Christian  piety  than  this  touching  outpouring 
of  a  heart  filled  with  the  grace  of  God  9  > 

This  captivity  was  a  useful  probation  to  the  future  Apostle,  for 
during  it  he  not  oikiy  acquired  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  people 
among  whom  he  was  soon  destined  to  spread  the  light  of  Chris 
tianity,  but  he  had  also  acquired  a  health  and  vigor  of  frame,  an 
indifference  to  heat  or  cold,  which  was  necessary  to  endure  hi8 
long  and  wearied  journeys  and  labors  while  traveling  as  a  mis- 
sionary through  the  country.  V        '^ 

Jocylin  relates,  that  while  a  slave  with  Milcho,  the  latter  had  a 
vision  one  night,  in  which  he  saw  Patrick  all  on  fire,  and  then 
the  flames  which  issued  from  him  were  about  to  seize  on  Milcho 
himself,  but  he  repelled  them,  and  they  were  immediately  com 
municated  to  his  two  little  daughters,  who  were  lying  in  a  bed 
near  him,  and  burned  them  to  cinders,  and  the  winds  dispersed 
their  ashes  over  many  parts  of  Ireland.  Milcho  was  troubled 
&nd  conjured  Patrick  to  interpret  the  meaning  of  his  vision. 
Patrick  being  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  replied :  "  The  fire 
which  thou  sawest  issue  from  me  is  the  faith  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
with  which  1  am  illuminated,  and  which  I  shall  endeavor  tc 


preach 


Ura  Of  ST.  PATBIOK. 


67 


f  Blisbh 
nge  land 

)  8cener3» 
who  Ima 
tud  bdd/) 
,  in  med 

'Client  it 
kLitjd  my 
,  BO  that 
t)y  night, 
sty  in  tht 
led  with 
n  me." 
ifully  iL 
tpouring 

>8tle,  for 
B  p^ple 
f  Chris 
ame,  an 
lure  hi«i 
I  a  mis- 

)r  had  a 
id  then 

Milcho 
ly  com 
a  bed 
spersed 
[)ubled 

vision. 
he  fire 

'rinity 

vor  tc 


preach  to  thee ;  but  my  speech  will  find  in  thee  no  plaoe,  for  thou 
wilt  in  the  blindness  of  thine  heart  repel  from  thee  the  light  of 
divine  grace ;  but  thy  daughters  shall,  at  my  preaching,  believe 
ni  the  true  God,  and  all  the  days  of  their  lives  serving  God  hi 
holiness  and  in  justice,  shall  piously  rest  in  the  Lord,  and  their 
ashes — that  is,  their  relics,  the  Lord  revealing  them  and  making  oi 
them  signs — shall  be  carried  into  many  places  throughout  Lreland, 
and  shall  give  the  blessing  of  health  to  many  who  are  infirm.^ 

At  the  end  of  six  years  he  obtained  his  release  in  the  following 
manner,  as  related  by  himself.  While  asleep  one  night  he  heard 
a  voice  say  to  him :  "  Thou  fastest  well,  and  art  soon  to  go  to 
thine  own  countiy."  And  again  the  voice  announced  to  him. 
"  Behold,  a  ship  is  ready  for  you  I "  He  tells  us  that  the  ship  was 
about  two  hundred  miles  away,  where  he  had  never  been.  But 
strong  in  his  faith  in  the  Lord,  whom  he  felt  had  destined  him 
for  some  wise  ends  of  his  own,  he  left  his  master  and  traveled 
towards  Benum.  (1) 

St.  Patrick  further  relates:  "And  I  was  under  no  apprehension 
until  I  arrived  at  the  place  where  the  ship  was ;  and  on  the  day 
on  which  I  arrived,  the  ship  was  to  sail  from  her  place,  and  I  said 
that  I  would  sail  with  them.  And  the  proposal  displeased  the 
master  of  the  vessel,  and  he  answered  sharply  with  this  reply  * 
'  Tou  shall  by  no  means  come  with  us.'  On  hearing  this  I  retired 
for  the  purpose  of  going  to  the  cabin,  where  I  had  been  received 
as  a  guest,  and  while  going  thither  I  began  to  pray.  But  before 
I  had  finished  my  prayer,  I  heard  one  of  the  men  crying  out  with 
a  loud  voice  after  me:  '  Come  quickly,  for  they  are  calling  you;' 
and  immediately  I  returned ;  and  they  said  to  me : '  Come,  we  re* 
ceive  thee  in  faith  (on  credit) ;  ratify  friendship  with  us  just  as 
it  may  be  agreeable  to  you.'  (2)    We  then  set  sail,  and  afttf 

(1)  Anum,  which  wM  diBUat  two  hundred  milM  from  Antrim,  must  be  lomewhere  la 
the  Math  of  Ireland ;  most  protebly  it  is  Buitry,  which  ligniflee  the  ooMt  of  Ben,  thtt 
is,  Bentraighe. 

(9)  The  ezprestion  ii  to  be  tmdentood  of  their  giving  him  a  peasage  <m  hu  word  ef 
credit,  tmating  for  payment  when  he  reached  Oanl.  The  Saint  obeenrea  that  thoae  aen 
were  Gentiles.  Being  three  days  on  sea,  clearly  indicates  that  they  nad  to  g«  be- 
yond Britain,  or  Scotland.  If  he  were  a  native  of  Scotland,  the  distaaoe  aerow  flon 
Antrim  is  so  sh(  rt  that  the  Lord  would  sorely  proyide  means  of  escape  ftr  Urn  Mmm^  if 
at  were  going  to  Scotland,  and  not  compel  him  to  eross  Ireland. 


68 


LUTB  OJr  Ar.   PATKIOK. 


cv 


ihree  days  reached  land,  and  for  twenty-eight  days  we  journeyed 
through  a  desert,,  and  food  failed,  and  hunger  prevailed  ovei 
them.  And  the  master  said  to  me :  '  Christian,  do  you  not  sa) 
that  your  God  is  great  and  all-powerful  ?  Why,  then,  can  you  not 
pray  for  us,  for  we  are  in  danger  of  famishing,  for  it  is  difficult 
for  us  to  see  any  man  t '  '* 

The  Saint  desired  them  to  turn  with  faith  their  whole  hearts  to 
God,  and  that,  as  nothing  is  impossible  to  Him,  He  may  send 
them  food  in  abundance.  And  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Almighty,  it  so  happened,  for  immediately  a  drove  of  swine  ap- 
peared in  view,  of  which,  having  killed  many,  they  stopped  foi 
two  nights  to  refresh  themselves.  They  returned  thanks  to  God, 
and  showed  the  greatest  respect  for  St.  Patrick.  They  also  found 
some  wild  honey,  and  offered  him  some  of  it.  But  one  of  them 
said :  ^  This  is  an  offering ;  thanks  to  God."  On  which  account 
the  Saint  would  not  touch  it.  (1) 

On  the  following  night  he  was  tempted  by  Satan,  who  lay 
apon  him  in  his  sleep  like  a  huge  stone.  "  But,"  continues  the 
narrative,  **  the  suggestion  presented  itself  to  me  to  call  upon 
Elias.  Meanwh."  ^  "aw  the  sun  rise  in  the  heavens,  and  while  I 
was  invoking  Eliasi  V7:  vh  all  my  strength^  lo  I  the  splendor  of  the 
sun  fell  upon  me,  and  immediately  released  me  from  the  oppress- 
ive weight.  I  believe  that  I  was  assisted  by  my  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  that  the  Spirit  called  out  for  me,  and  I  hope  that  it 
will  be  thus  on  the  day  of  my  adversity,  as  the  Lord  says  in  the 
Goq>el :  '  It  is  not  you  who  speaks,  bat  the  Holy  Ghost  who 
speaks  within  you.'" 

Such  is  Patrick's  own  simple,  but  touching  narrative  of  his 
escape  from  Ireland,  which  shows  with  what  patience  and  resig- 
nation he  submitted  to  the  Divine  wiU. 

From  all  the  circumstances  it  is  evident  that  where  they  landed 
was  in  GauL     Having  to  cross  Ireland  to  reach  the  ship,  the 


(1)  I'  woal4  »pi)ear  that  the  man  osed  the  words,  iieaning  that  they  would  oifo  it  ai 
■a  dblatioii  to  Qod,  in  honor  of  havinf^  provided  them  with  food,  at  they  ware  in  th« 
habit  of  doing  to  their  gods,  which  so  offended  the  Saint  that  he  would  not  touch  it 
This  was  in  aooOTdance  with  tlae  doctrine  of  St.  Paol,  who  aays :  *'  Bat  if  anj  man  ahal] 
My,  This  is  aaoiiiloed  U  idols,  eat  not  of  it  for  his  sake.  I  say  not  thy  own,  bol 
•notherV 


'"■'/;":«r%,  T»VTfj'T' 


UTM  OF  BT.  PATBIOK. 


69 


longth  of  the  voyage,  and  other  oircumstanoes  point  to  this ;  and 
according  to  two  ancient  breviaries  printed  at  Rheims,  the  place 
where  they  landgd  was  Treguier,  in  Brittany,  which,  owing  to  thf 
wooded  state  of  the  country  at  the  time,  and  there  being  nc 
regular  roads,  would  fully  take  pedestrians  twenty-eight  ^nys  to 
reach  Boulogne-sur-Mer  from  it. 

St.  Patrick  makes  mention  of  no  other  circumstances  of  impoi 
tance  until  he  reached  home,  where  he  was  joyfully  received  by 
his  family  and  friends,  for  he  was  looked  upon  as  dead. 

He  must  have  reached  home  about  the  year  409,  when  in  his 
twenty-second  year.  He  soon  after  retired  to  the  monastery  oi 
St.  Martin  of  Tours,  where,  though  that  great  prelate  was  dead 
some  yearft,  he  was  most  kindly  received,  and  earnestly  devoted 
himself  to  study  and  ecclesiastical  learning.  Here  he  was  re- 
markable for  his  great  piety,  strict  observance  of  the  monastic 
rules,  and  the  exercise  of  the  religious  duties.  The  pious  example 
set  by  the  good  and  renowned  St.  Martin  was  the  guide  of  hin 
iples  and  followers. 

Schooled  in  hardships,  sufferings,  and  humiliations,  here  he 
learned  that  pious  humility  that  submits  in  all  things  to  the  will 
of  God,  and  that  love  and  perfect  charity  for  all  taught  by  the 
pious  founder,  who,  while  a  soldier,  bestowed  half  his  cloak  upon 
a  poor  mendicant,  and  who  daily  waited  on  the  poor  to  feed  and 
clothe  them  and  relieve  their  necessities. 

At  the  end  of  the  four  years  he  went  back  among  his  relatives, 
and  continued  to  practice  those  works  of  piety  and  charity  in 
which  he  had  been  so  well  schooled. 

It  is  most  probable  that  at  this  period  his  second  captivity  took 
place,  of  which  he  gives  the  following  account  himself,  without, 
however,  stating  by  whom  he  was  made  prisoner,  or  whither  he 
was  taken,  though  it  is  generally  thought  that  he  was  carried  to 
some  place  near  Bordeaux.    St.  Patrick  says : 

**  The  first  night  after  my  captivity  I  heard  a  divine  communi 
cation  saying:  *For  two  months  thou  shalt  remain  with  them,*— 
which  came  to  pass. 

"On  the  sixtieth  night  the  Lord  delivered  me  JUt  of  theu 
handa    He  also  provided  for  us  food  and  fire  and  dry  weathei 


\ 


UWM  or  ST.   PATBIOft. 


»u  our  Journey  every  day  until  the  tenth  day,  when  wt;  all  ar 
rived." 

On  hia  return  to  his  home,  his  parents  were  overjoyed  to  see 
ind  embrace  him,  and  earnestly  besought  him  not  to  leav 
ihem  any  more— considering  their  old  age,  their  lonely  condition, 
and  all  the  hardships  he  had  undergone ;  and  he  adds :  "  And 
t  here  in  the  midst  of  the  night  1  saw  a  man  coming  as  'f  from 
llibernia,  whose  name  was  Viotrioius,  with  innumeraldc  etters, 
one  of  which  he  handed  me.  On  reading  the  beginning  of  the 
letter  I  found  it  contained  these  peculiar  words :  '  T/te  voice  of  the 
frish,^  And  while  I  was  reading  the  letter  I  thought  I  beard  at 
the  same  moment  the  vvoice  of  persons  from  near  the  wood  of 
FocltUf  which  is  near  the  western  sea,  and  they  cried  out  as  if 
with  one  voice :  '  We  entreat  thee^  holy  youth^  to  come  <md  walk  still 
among  tu,'  And.  I  was  greatly  affected  in  my  heart,  and  could 
read  no  longer;  then  I  awoke.  Goo  be  praised,  that  after  so 
many  years  the  Lord  granted  to  them  according  to  their  en 
treaty.'* 

This  vision  appeared  to  St.  Patrick  soon  after  his  second  caj) 
tivity,  or  about  the  year  418,  when  he  was  thirty  years  old.  It 
is  but  natural  to  think  that  a  revelation  so  extraordinary  would 
sink  deep  into  a  heart  so  deeply  imbued  with  religious  fervoi 
and  a  desire  to  serve  his  Divine  Master. 

He  had  several  other  visions  about  this  time,  and  his  whole 
soul  seemed  wrapt  in  a  celestial  fire  of  grace,  for  he  heard  angels 
or  spirits  singing  within  him  ;  and  on  another  occasion  he  heard 
the  Holy  Ghost  praying  within  him,  and  then  he  recollected  the 
words  of  the  Apostles :  "  The  spirit  helpeth  the  infirmity  of  oui 
prayers,  for  we  know  not  for  what  to  pray." 

Thus  urged  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  believing  that  he  was 
called  as  the  servant  of  God  to  fulfill  His  wise  purposes,  he  took 
an  affectionate  leave  of  his  family  and  friends,  and  placed  himself 
qnder  the  guidance  and  discipline  of  St.  Germanus,  bishop  of 
Auxerre 

The  best  writers  on  the  subject  agree  that  this  took  place  in 
the  year  418. 

After  he  had  joined  St  Germanus,  the  events  of  his  life  unti] 


Lun  Of  tr.  PAnucs. 


6j 


the  time  of  his  mission  are  involved  in  much  obscurity  and  no 
certainty.  Probius  states  that  when  he  left  St  Martin's  monas 
tery  he  proceeded  to  a  desert,  where  he  spent  eight  years  leading 
ihe  life  of  a  solitary  hermit,  and  subjecting  himself  to  the  great 
est  mortiflcatioD,  and  proceeded  from  theuce  to  an  island  near  the 
Rock  of  Hermon,  dose  to  the  Bay  of  Normandy  (now  most 
probably  Mont  St.  Michael),  and  that  he  was  consecrated  by  a 
holy  bishop  named  Amator.  If  he  attached  himself  to  St.  Qet- 
manus  in  4^8,  when  he  was  but  thirty  years  of  age,  he  could  not 
then  be  jiriest,  for  the  Gallican  Church  required  applicants  foi 
ordination  to  be  at  least  thirty  years  of  age.  The  more  probable 
account  is,  that  after  spending  some  years  with  St.  Germanus,  by 
his  advice  he  visited  the  Island  of  Lerins  (now  called  St 
Honorat),  where  a  celebrated  school  and  monastery  existed,  from 
which  issued  some  of  the  most  famous  bishops  of  the  Gallican 
Church,  such  as  St.  Hilarius  of  Aries,  Si  Lupes  of  Troyes,  and 
others.    '        ::;'''--^-  ^  ..•  ■  ■^*";;  ■ 

While  at  Lerins,  it  is  stated  that  he  made  several  voyages  to 
the  neighboring  islands,  visiting  other  monasteries  and  holy 
hermits.  In  oi.e  of  the  many  islands  of  the  Tuscan,  or  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  lived  a  hermit  who  was  renowned  for  his  pious  life 
and  great  sanctity.  His  name  was  Justus,  and,  as  the  annalist 
states, "  he  was  just  in  name  and  works."  This  man  received  our 
Saint  with  profound  respect  and  humility,  and  placed  in  his 
hands  a  staf  which  he  declared  had  been  given  him  by  Jesiu 
Christ,  with  instructions  to  give  it  to  St.  Patrick.  Patrick  gave 
thanks  to  God,  and  remained  with  the  holy  hermit  some  time 
but  at  length  he  left  him,  carrying  with  him  the  staff  of 
Jesus.    '■^-■-'' ■   '  ^  ■  '""■'  --'-.--■■ 

"  0,  excellent  gift  I "  exclaims  the  writer  Jocylin.  ^'  For  as 
the  Lord  did  many  miracles  by  the  rod  of  Moses,  leading  forth 
the  Hebrew  people  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  so  by  this  staff  waf 
He  pleased,  through  Patrick,  to  perform  many  and  great  wondon 
for  the  conversion  of  many  nations." 

This  celebrated  staff,  called  the  ^^Baculua  Jem^  is  mentioned 
by  most  Lish  writers.  St.  Bernard  notices  it  in  his  Life  of  Si 
Malachy,  as  one  of  those  insignia  of  the  See  of  Armagh  which 


99 


Lira  OF  BT.   PATRICK. 


were  populnrly  believed  to  confer  on  the  ponHeHHor  a  title  m  tH 
regnrded  and  obeyed  as  the  suoceMsor  of  St.  I*titi'ick. 

This  staff,  or,  ao  it  is  called  by  most  writers,  crozier,  was  pre 
lerved  with  religious  veneration  arooug  the  reliuH  of  St.  Patrick 
at  Armagh.  The  Annals  of  Innisfallen  notice  it,  rh  alno  the  An- 
uals  of  Tighemach,  which  inforia  us  that  '*  the  Baculus  Jesu  wai 
profaned,  and  the  profaner  was  killed  three  days  afterwards." 
The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  make  mention  of  it  in  several 
places. 

In  the  year  1178,  Armagh  was  burned,  with  its  churches  and 
sanctuaries,  and  the  Baculus  was  removed  by  the  English  to 
Trinity  Church,  Dublin,  where  it  and  other  sacred  relics  were 
publicly  burned  by  the  Christian  reformers  under  Henry 
the  VIII. 

Sir  James  Ware,  in  noticing  this  sacrilege,  adds :  "  Also,  about 
the  same  time,  among  the  famous  images  wherounto  pilgrimages 
were  designed,  the  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgiu  Mary  was  burned, 
then  kept  at  Trim,  in  the  Abbey  of  the  Canons  ilegular,  and  the 
gifts  of  the  pilgrims  were  taken  away  from  thence.  The  image 
of  Christ  crucified,  in  the  Abbey  of  Ballilogan,  and  St.  Patriok's 
Staff,  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  underwent 
the  like  fate." 

Old  annals  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  give  us  a  similar  ac- 
count, but  add :  "  *  The  Staff  of  Jesus,*  which  wrought  so  manj 
miracles,  and  which  was  in  the  hand  of  Christ  himself,  besides 
aU  the  crosses,  images,  and  sacred  relics  they  could  lay  hands  on, 
were  destroyed." 

The  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
been  written  about  his  own  time,  gives,  in  Irish,  the  following 
account  of  this  great  relic,  as  translated  by  O'Curry: 

"Patrick  took  leave  of  German  (St.  Germanus, his  tutor)  then, 
%nd  he  gave  him  his  blessing ;  and  there  went  with  him  a  trusty 
tenior  from  German,  to  take  care  of  him,  and  to  testify  to  him. 
Segelius  was  his  name,  and  a  priest  in  orders,  and  it  was  he  that 
performed  the  offices  of  the  Church  under  German.  Patrick 
went  then  upon  the  sea — nine  in  his  number. 

"  It  was  then  the  tide  cast  him  upon  an  island,  where  he  saw 


lilVK  or   BT.    PATBIO^ 


<to 


a  new  houee  and  a  youog  couple  in  it ;  and  he  sai%  a  withered 
old  woman  at  the  door  of  the  house  by  their  aida  '  What  ha» 
happened  the  hagi'  said  Patrick,  *  great  is  her  debility.'  Th* 
young  man  answered;  this  is  what  he  said:  *She  is  a  grand 
daughter  oi  mine,  even  the  mother,'  said  he,  *  O I  cleric  of  thai 
daughter  whom  you  see,  she  is  more  debilitated  again.'  *  In  what 
way  did  that  happen  1 '  said  St.  Patrick.  '  It  is  not  difficult  to 
tell  it,'  said  the  young  man.  '  We  are  here  since  the  time  of  Christ 
He  happened  to  visit  us  when  Ue  was  among  men  here ;  and  w«> 
made  a  feast  for  Him.  He  blessed  our  house  avid  He  bU^Hsed  uur 
aielves,  and  the  blessing  di<l  not  reach  our  children ;  and  we  shall 
be  without  age,  without  decay  here  to  the  judgment ;  and  it  is  n 
long  time  since  thy  coming  was  foretold  to  us,  and  God  left  uf 
information  that  thou  wouldst  go  to  preach  to  the  Gaedhil,  and 
He  left  a  token  with  us,  namely,  a  bent  staff,  to  be  given  to  thee.' 

'* '  I  shall  not  receive  it,'  said  Patrick, '  until  He  Himself  gi  ve^ 
me  His  staff.'  Patrick  stopped  three  days  and  three  nights  with 
them ;  and  he  went  then  to  Mount  Hermon,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  island ;  and  the  Lord  appeared  to  him  there,  and  said  to 
him  to  come  and  preach  to  the  Gaedhil,  and  that  He  would  give 
him  the  staff  of  Jesus ;  and  He  said  it  would  be  a  deliverer  to 
him  in  every  danger,  and  in  every  unequal  contest  in  which  he 
should  be." 

To  return  to  St  Patrick.  After  spending  some  time  at  Lerins, 
he  returned  to  St.  Germanus,  with  whom  he  remained  some  time, 
perfecting  himself  in  the  art  of  governing  souls,  and  in  the  sacred 
duties  of  the  ministry.  He  also  visited  his  native  place  at  Bou- 
logne, and  exercised  there  pastoral  charge  for  some  time — not  in 
the  character  of  bishop,  for  he  was  not  consecrated  until  a  short 
time  before  his  mission  to  Ireland.  While  there,  it  is  said  that 
he  converted  and  baptized  Muneria,  daughter  of  the  prince  of 
the  district  He  then  accompanied  SS.  Germanus  and  Lupus  .to 
Britain  for  the  purpose  of  combating  the  Pelagian  heresy,  in 
which  they  were  eminently  successful.  While  there,  St  Patrick 
naturally  inquired  into  the  state  of  Ireland.  On  their  represen 
tation  of  the  benighted  state  of  that  country  to  Pope  Celestine 
L,  he  dispatched  Palladius  and  some  companions  as  missionaries 


04. 


Un  OV  ST.   PATBIOK. 


there,  with  what  poor  snocess  we  have  seen  at  the  commencemeni 
of  this  work.  '^.^■'-:-  ■.::■■'■  r  -r'.^iV;::  ,..-"^ 

It  is  probbble  that  St.  Germanus,  knowing  St  Patricks  fitness 
for  the  Irish  mission,  broached  the  subject  to  him,  and  that  he 
dagerly  entered  into  the  project,  for  early  in  the  year  431  we  find 
him  in  Rome,  with  strong  recommendations  from  St.  GermanuB 
to  the  Pope. 

Gelestine  received  him  with  all  the  respect  due  to  his  merit,  ai 
well  as  to  the  recommendations  of  so  distinguished  a  person  as 
St.  Germanua  The  Pope  questioned  him  about  Ireland  and  his 
acquaintance  with  the  country,  and  finding  his  answers  satisfac- 
tory, commissioned  him  to  act  as  assistant  to  Palladius,  who  had 
left  for  that  coontry  a  few  months  previous,  and  most  likely  em- 
powered him,  in  case  of  Palladius'  death  or  failure,  to  receive 
consecration  and  enter  upon  the  L-ish  mission. 

We  can  conceive  with  what  pious  feelings  Patrick  visited  in 
Rome  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  the  tombs 
of  the  many  martyrs  whose  sacred  blood  was  the  baptism  of 
Christianity  in  the  Eternal  City — no  longer  the  City  of  the  CsBsars, 
but  now  the  City  of  the  Popes,  Christ's  vicars  on  earth. 

Having  received  the  papal  benediction  and  some  relics  of  the 
saints,  and  other  presents,  from  Celestine,  he  returned  to  France 
to  arrange  his  afiairs  before  following  Palladius.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  Auxilius  and  Serrinius,  who  subsequently  accompanied 
him  to  Ireland. 

He  visited  his  friend  St.  Germanjis  and  received  some  chalices, 
vestments,  books,  and  other  presents  from  him. 

Aft^r  taking  leave  of  St.  Germanus  he  started  on  his  journey, 
and  reached  Iberia  (most  likely  the  modern  Evereux,  in  Nor 
mandy),  where  he  was  met  by  Augustine  and  benedict,  who  had 
accompanied  Palladius  to  Ireland,  and  had  fled  with  him  t.o  Scot 
land,  who  informed  Patrick  of  his  death.  He  resolved  t«  get 
xmsecrated  without  delay,  as  it  was  necessaiy  to  have  a  bishop 
at  the  head  of  the  mission  in  Ireland,  and  the  consecration  was 
pei*formed  by  Amator,  prelate  of  Iberia. 

Here  his  faith  and  resolution  were  sorely  tried,  for  his  family 
sad  Mends  besought  him  with  gifts,  tears,  and  entreaties  not  U 


LIFE  OF  er.   PATRICK. 


ee 


leaye  them  to  go  among  a  people  remarkable  for  their  fier«cnesB 
and  devotion  to  their  pagan  rites  and  customs,  for  tbey  looked 
upon  it  as  going  to  certain  death.  But  says  the  Saint :  "  By  the 
'  power  of  God  I  by  no  means  consented  or  acquiesced  to  them,  not 
by  any  strength  of  my  own,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  who  em- 
powered me  to  resist,  them,  that  I  might  come  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  Irish  nation — that  I  might  bear  many  persecutions, 
even  to  chains,  and  give  myself  and  my  nobility  for  the  salvation 
of  others." 

Failing  in  their  appeal  to  his  natural  feelings,  a  friend  de- 
nounced him  as  unworthy  of  the  episcopal  rank,  on  account  of  a 
fault  he  committed  thirty  years  before.  Though  the  Saint  does 
not  mention  what  the  fault  was,  the  disclosure  of  it  was  very 
painfol  to  him ;  but  he  informs  us  that  he  had  a  vision  in  which 
the  Lord  seemed  to  repeat  to  him:  "He  who  touches  you, 
touches  the  apple  of  mine  eye ;"  "  from  which,"  continues  the 
Saint,  "  I  boldly  say  that  my  conscience  now  rei)roache8  me  with 
nothing.  But  I  grieve  for  the  friend  who  gave  such  an  answer 
for  me,  who  would  have  entrusted  t>>  him  my  very  soul." 

All  things  being  arranged,  he  blessed  his  friends  and  bid  them 
farewell,  and  sailed  for  Ireland.  He  landed  on  the  shores  of 
Britain,  and  preached  for  a  short  time  m  the  neighborhood  of 
Menevia,  or  St.  Davids,  in  W*les. 

He  is  also  said  to  have  paid  a  short  visit  to  Cornwall.  Bor ja»39 
says :  "  By  persisting  in  their  Dniidism,  the  Britons  of  ComwaU 
drew  the  attention  of  St.  Patrick  this  way,  who.  s.bout  the  yeai 
482,  with  twee  i>y  companions,  halted  a  little  on  his  way  to  Lre 
land,  on  the  shores  of  Comwdl.  wher**  '»^  is  said  to  have  ba^H  a 
monastery." 


X  V 


»  !, 


CHAPTER  H 

PIlTvIOK  LAITD0  IN  TBMLAMD— TUB  ITAn  OF  3aEUELAin>— BBLieiOH  OV  THB  tlKUIlMI— Vf 
VATBIOK'B  MIB8ION— LBATKt  WICOKLOW— fWNYBRTg  OICF<)  AMD  OTHSBS— TRIM  TO  OOH 

mm  niB  old  mabtsr,  xilcho,  who  dibb  ncrBsiTBHT— mochiia  and  othuui  ook 

▼BBTBD>-KB  FSOCBBDB  TO  TABA— OOITTaBTB  THB  FAMILY  OF  BBNIONUB— HB  LieUTb  i 
VmB  IB  OPPOBITIOB  TO  THB  BATIONAL  CUBTOK— THB  DRUIDB*  FBOFHBfrr— KIBO  LAa 
HAIRB  AND  THB  SAIBT— HIB  TIBIT  TO  TARA— A  HTKN  OF  ST.  PATHIOK— HB  DBFIBB  THB 
DRUIDS  AND  THBIR  mOAJrTATIOH»— THB  OLLAKH,  OB  HBAD  DRUID,  OONBUUBO  TO  ABHBf 
— TBB  KING  OrVBB  ST.  PATRICK  PBRMIBBION  TO  FRBACH— HIB  UIB8I0N  IN  MBATH— OON 
▼BRTB  NUMBBR8  AT  THB  OBBAT  FAIR  OR  COBVmTION  OF  TAIiyTBN— DBBTRUOTION  OF 
THB  ORBAT  IDOL  OF  OBOX-CRUACH. 


St.  Patbiok  landed  in  Ireland  in  the  year  432,  being  the  ^.rst 
year  of  the  pontificate  of  St,  Sixtus  IIL,  the  successor  of  Celestine, 
and  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  Laghaire,  son  of  Niall  of  the 
Nine  Hostages,  as  monarch  of  Ireland. 

During  the  reigns  of  Niall  and  Dathy,  the  Britons  were  reduced 
to  the  lowest  ebb  by  the  dereliction  of  the  Romans,  and  were  a» 
sailed  on  all  sides  by  the  Scots  and  Picts ;  nor  was  the  situation 
of  the  Romans  in  Gaul  much  better ;  and  Niall  invaded  the  con- 
tinent with  a  formidable  army.  After  his  death,  Dathy,  Kmg  of 
Connaught,  was  called  to  the  monarchy.  He  immediately  fol- 
lowed up  the  victories  of  Niall  by  invading  the  Romans  in  Brit- 
tany and  Normandy,  and  by  following  them  up  to  the  very  foot 
of  the  Alps,  where  the  brave  Dathy  was  killed  by  lightning. 
After  his  death,  his  cousin-german  Laghaire  took  command  of  the 
Irish  army,  and  led  them  back  to  Ireland,  solemnly  bearing  hom<> 
the  embalmed  body  of  Dathy.  Laghaire  was  a  warlike  prince> 
and  as  soon  as  he  was  elected  successor  to  the  throne  of  Ireland^ 
he  prepared  for  new  expediiions.  in  concert  with  his  former  allies, 
the  Scots  and  Picts,  and  invadyd  Britain,  which  had  to  secure 
peace  by  a  heavy  tribute.  Intestine  dissensions — ever  the  bane 
of  Ireland — compelled  Laghaire  to  return  home.  The  Lageniang 
66 


.rfr,g 


lam  or  sr.  patbick. 


et 


haying  refused  to  pay  their  usual  tribute,  the  king  marohed 
against  them  and  entered  Leinster,  and  a  fierce  battle  ensued  be- 
tween the  Lagenians,  under  Criomhthan,  and  the  monarch  oi 
Ireland,  at  a  place  called  Atha-Dara^  County  Kildare,  in  which 
Laghaire  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  and  purchased  his 
liberty  by  swearing  by  the  elements  to  exonerate  the  province  of 
Leinster  from  tribute  during  his  life. 

As  •ioon  as  the  king  had  gained  his  liberty,  he  protested  against 
promises  made  while  a  captive.  The  Druids  absolved  him  from 
his  oath,  and  he  prepared  for  another  invasion  of  the  Lagenian 
territory.  Si  Patrick's  mission,  and  the  new  and  strange  religion 
of  the  Christians,  seemed  to  absorb  the  attention  of  the  nation 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  affairs. 

The  religion  of  pagan  Ireland  was  calculated  to  inflame  the 
passions ;  for  the  love  of  glory,  pomp,  and  revenge  were  the  chief 
themes  of  the  bards  and  senachies.  The  Druids  taught  the 
Pythagorean  doctrine  of  the  immortality  and  transmigration  of 
the  soul,  and  that  the  souls  of  the  brave  who  perished  in  battle 
revived  in  other  bodies  more  noble  and  pure,  while  the  souls  of 
gluttons  and  cowards  animated  bodies  itiore  debased.  The  re- 
ligion of  the  Druids  of  Ireland  seems  ic  have  been  of  a  milder 
type  than  that  practiced  by  other  Celtic  nations  of  Europe  and 
by  tbd  Scythians.  We  have  no  proof  that  thsy  offered  sacrifice 
to  their  idols,  like  those  of  GauL  IVom  the  great  respect  and 
reverence  they  paid  the  elements,  it  is  evident  that  they  worshiped 
them  as  lesser  deities.  J^aal^  the  sun,  and  Samhamy  the  moon, 
were  their  chief  <^*vinities.  To  this  St  Patrick  alludes  in  his 
Confessions  in  the  following  terms :  "  That  which  we  daily  see, 
rise  by  the  command  of  God,  but  shall  never  rule,  nor  shall  his 
splendor  remain,  and  all  those  who  adore  it  shall  perish  most 
miserably.*'  They  peopled  the  woods,  the  rivers,  and  lakes  with 
their  gods.  Their  wells  were  reverenced,  and  bright,  beautiful 
goddesses  were  believed  to  have  charge  of  them.  Their  woods 
were  Tull  of  fays  and  gods.  Their  mounds  or  raths  were  peopled 
with  th :  ArrachtOf  or  fairies,  and  the  ancient  Tir-na-noge  was  a 
land  of  never-ending  beauty  and  glory,  where  the  good  resided  in 
';t^ver-f«ding  youth.    Baal-fires  giowvd  on  every  hUl*«ide  on  tlf 


'4 


8B 


urn  OV  ST.   PATBIOK. 


flnrt  of  May,  in  honor  of  their  god ;  and  November-eve  was  sacred 
to  the  moon,  and  dedicated  with  feasts  and  superstitions  cere 
monie&  It  was  a  harmless  kind  of  religion,  but  one  that  pos 
■essed  great  hold  on  the  senses,  and  one  which  a  warlike,  chival 
rooB  peoj^  wonld  not  be  inclined  to  relinquish  easily  for  the 
stem,  self-den3ring  doctrines  of  Christianity. 

There  was  a  poetical  mysticism  about  it  that  hallowed  ever; 
spot  as  the  home  of  superior  beinga  The  roaring  of  the  tempest, 
the  flash  of  the  lightning,  were  but  the  angry  voices  of  those 
divinities,  while  the  soft  breeze  was  but  their  breath,  the  placid 
wells  and  streams  their  mirrorsi  There  is  little  wonder  that  this 
religion  had  a  great  hold  on  the  hearts  and  minds  of  a  primitive 
people,  when  Ohristian  Ireland,  after  fourteen  centuries,  clings 
yet  to  many  of  their  harmless  customs  and  practices,  and  has  not 
ceased  to  people  the  raths  with  fairies.  Jocylin  states  that 
when  St.  Patrick  was  nearing  the  Irish  coast  he  beheld  a  multi- 
tude of  devils  ready  to  oppose  his  landing ;  but  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  he  raised  his  hand,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  invoked 
the  assistance  of  God,  and  the  demons  fled.  It  is  generally  sup 
posed  that  he  laaded  at  the  present  town  of  Wicklow,  at  a  place 
called  Inbher-Bv>a,  or  the  mouth  of  the  Dee,  which  was  the  nam- 
of  the  present  river  Leitrim ;  or,  according  to  others,  at  Bray, 
near  Dublin.  He  was  repulsed  by  the  natives,  and  nezt  pro- 
ceeded to  Anat-Cailtrim,  supposed  to  be  the  present  Teltown, 
between  Navan  p^nd  Kells,  in  the  County  MeatL  Here  he  was 
again  repulsed  by  a  chieftain  named  Nathic  Hua  Garchon,  whj 
had  before  opposed  Palladius.  He  then  took  to  his  ship,  and 
put  in  at  Holm-Patrick,  (1)  where  he  remained  several  days 
From  this  he  proceeded  toward  the  coast  of  Ulster,  where  he 
was  somewhat  acquainted,  with  the  intention  of  converting  his 
old  master,  Milcho.  He  landed  on  the  coast  of  Ulidia,  in  the 
present  Lecale,  in  the  County  Down — most  likely  near  the  present 
Lough  Strangford.  The  Apostle  and  his  companions  proceeded 
a  little  way  into  the  adjacent  country,  where  they  met  a  herds- 
man in  the  service  of  a  chief  of  the  district,  whose  name  was 
Dicho.  The  herd,  taking  them  for  robbers  or  pirates,  ran  and 
(1)  Ho^m-Pttrick  i«  oae  of  the  skerry  rockc,  ind  is  about  iduetoen  miles  from  DnbUa 


Lira  07  ST.  PATRXOK. 


69 


told  hig  master  about  them.  Dicho,  however,  on  seeing  the  Saint 
was  so  struck  with  Ms  appearance  that  he  invited  the  party  tc 
his  house,  and  paid  Ihem  the  greatest  deference  and  respect.  St 
Patrick  being  thoroaghly  conversant  with  the  Celtic  language, 
conversed  with  Dicho  about  the  great  truths  of  the  Christian 
religion,  and  the  chief,  through  the  power  of  God,  believed  and 
was  baptized,  with  all  his  family.  Like  most  converts,  Dicho  be 
came  zealous  in  the  new  religion,  and  gave  the  Saint  a  piece  o( 
ground  on  which  to  erect  a  church,  which  received  the  name  of 
Sabhal  Padruic,  or  Patrick's  bam ;  the  name  is  ^till  preserved  in 
the  modern  appellation,  SavL  Some  think  that  it  was  so  called 
because  it  was  a  real  bam  that  the  Saint  converted  for  the  oc- 
casion into  a  church.  (1)  Here  a  church  and  monastery  were 
afterward  erected,  and  became  a  favorite  retreat  of  the  Saint 

After  remaining  some  days  with  Dicho,  the  Saint,  left  his  boat 
in  hie  charge,  and  proceeded  to  visit  his  old  master,  Milcho,  who 
lived  in  the  province  of  Dalradia,  wtich  comprised  thg  southern 
parts  of  the  County  Antrim,  and  the  greater  part  of  Down. 
M'lcho  was  an  obstinate  heathen,  and  refused  to  see  hinu  He  is 
even  said  to  have  shut  himself  up  in  Lis  own  house,  and,  either 
by  accid(3nt  or  design,  to  have  set  it  on  fire,  with  which  he  hiruseli 
was  confiumed.  Patrick  was  very  much  affected  at  the  sad  fate 
uf  Miloho ;  and  we  are  told  that,  in  accordance  with  his  f ormei 
prophecy,  the  two  daughters  of  Milcho  became  nuns  in  a  convent 
at  Clonbrone,  and  that  his  son  became  bishop  of  Granard,  in 
Longford. 

St.  Patrick  returned  to  the  district  of  Lecale,  in  which  Dicho 
lived,  and  preached  the  Gospel  with  great  success.  A  young  man 
named  Mochua,  whom  he  had  met  near  Bratten  (now  the  parish 
of  Bright,  barony  of  Lecale,  County  Down),  became  a  zealous 
convert  and  follower  of  the  Apostle.  He  was  instructed  by  the 
Saint,  and  in  the  course  of  time  became  bishop,  or  abbot,  c  f  the 
church  of  Edrum,  in  Antrim,  where  he  die<l  in  the  year  496.  (3) 

(1)  Such  is  Dr.  Lanigan's  opinion,  but  Dr.  Reovet  thii.ki  that  the  Irish  word  SaUhJi 
meanis  a  church.  The  Irish  Annals  relate  thot  in  the  year  915  there  was  a  great  ooa- 
liagration  at  Armagh,  which  burned  ite  /SobAoZ  ;  and  in  1011  a  great  mortality  at  Armagh 
carried  cfiTCen&ilad  of  the  Sabhal,  or  chorch. 

(9)  Di.  H«eT«  tMujts  tbat  JBklrum,  or  Neoodralu  of  the  Iririi,  is  tiie  prwent  M«dMi 


70 


UVI  or  n,  PATBIOK. 


m:r- 


Aooording  to  Jooylin,  St  Patrick  taught  Moohna  his  letton 
vfhich  is  simply  to  be  taken  as  instructing  him  in  Latin,  for  th( 
(risL  had  a  written  language  from  a  very  early  period,  and  in 
pioof  of  this,  Mr.  Tighe,  in  his  Statistical  Survey  of  Kilkenny 
has  published  an  inscription  in  Celtic  characters  written  long 
anterior  to  the  period  of  Christianity  in  Ireland. 

St.  Patrick^s  mission  had  thus  far  been  attended  with  consider- 
able success — several  of  the  chiefs  or  leading  men  of  Dalradia 
and  their  followers,  having  become  converts  But  the  Saint  re- 
volved to  strike  at  the  stronghold  of  paganism,  so  he  determined 
to  attend  the  great  festival  of  the  kings  and  nobles  at  Tara, 
which  took  place  about  Easter  time.  Having  blessed  Dicho  and 
his  other  converts,  and  having  probably  left  a  priest  in  charge  of 
them,  he  embarked  with  his  companions,  and  in  due  time  arrived 
.t  the  harbor  of  Colbdi  (now  Colp),  at  the  mouth  of  the  Boyne, 
near  Drogheda. 

Ware  says,  that  having  landed  at  Port  Colbdi,  St.  Patrick  com- 
mitted his  vessel  to  the  care  of  his  nephew,  Laman,  <^th  instruc- 
tions to  wait  his  return  forty  days,  while  he,  wit\  his  disciples, 
traveled  into  the  interior  parts  of  the  country  to  preach  Ihe  Gos- 
pel His  intention  in  this  journey  was  to  celebiate  the  i'^stiva. 
of  Saster  on  the  plains  of  Bregia^  and  to  be  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  great  triennial  convention  at  Tara,  which  was  to  be  held 
by  King  Laghaire,  and  all  the  princes,  nobles,  and  Druids,  oi 
pagan  priests.  St.  Patrick  knew  full  well  that  if  he  were  suc- 
cessful here,  it  would  have  a  great  influence  on  the  whole  king 
dom;  and  either  acting  under  Divine  impulse  or  on  his  own 
judgment  and  resolution,  he  determined  to  encounter  paganisn 
with  unshaken  fortitude  on  this  great  occasion. 

On  his  way,  St.  Patrick  took  lodging?  for  the  night  at  the  houB« 
of  a  person  named  Segnen,  who  kindly  received  and  entertained 
him  and  his  company.  Segnen  and  his  whole  family  listened  to 
the  exhortations  of  the  Saint,  believed  and  were  baptized.  Seg 
ntn  had  a  little  son,  of  an  amiable  disposition,  whom  the  Bainl 


talud,  in  Stnagfbrd  Lough— the  atme  being  a  oomiplion  of  Init-Mochay.    The  re 
maism  of  »  roond  tsmm^  and  th«  Ibuu^tion  of  a  obovoh,  ar«  jn  to  ba  warn  on  tin 


Lira  OF  BT.  PATBIOK. 


n 


called  BeiiigniiR,  or  sweet,  and  who  became  his  disciple,  and  fOA 
seeded  him  as  bishop  of  Armagh. 

On  Easter  Eve  St.  Patrick  arrived  at  a  place  called  Fearia-flr> 
ffAOy  (1)  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Boyne,  where  he  rested,  with  ths 
intention  of  celebrating  the  festival  there  in  sight  of  Tara.  It 
was  penal  tc  light  a  fire  within  the  province,  before  the  Idng^s 
bonfire  appeared,  during  the  celebration  of  the  solemn  convention. 
St.  Patrick,  either  ignorant  of  the  law,  or  not  caring  about  it,  lit 
8,  biasing  fire  in  front  of  his  tent,  which,  though  eight  miles  from 
Tara,  was  plainly  visible  there.  There  was  constomation  in  the 
Court  of  Tara  at  such  an  outrage,  particularly  among  the  Druids, 
who  informed  the  king  that  "  unless  yonder  fire  be  this  night  ex- 
tinguished, he  who  lighted  it  will,  together  with  his  followers, 
reign  over  the  whole  island."  -  "^ 

Whether  this  was  said  to  excite  the  king's  anger,  or  whether  it 
was  a  true  prophecy,  uttered  by  permission  of  God,  we  know  not; 
one  thing  is  certain,  the  Druids  and  OUamhs  had  a  prediction 
among  them  to  this  effect^  as  given  in  Jocylin's  Life :  "  A  man 
shall  arrive  here  having  his  head  shaven  in  a  circle,  bearing  a 
(»t>oked  staff,  and  his  table  shail  be  as  the  eastern  part  of  his 
house,  and  his  people  shall  stand  behind  him,  and  he  shall  sing 
forth  wickedness  from  his  table,  and  aU  his  household  shall  an- 
swer— '  So  be  it  I  so  be  it  I '  and  this  man,  when  he  cometh,  shall 
destroy  our  gods,  and  overturn  their  temples  and  their  altars,  and 
he  shall  subdue  unto  himself  the  |:ings  that  resist  him,  or  put 
them  to  death,  and  his  doctrine  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever." 
There  was  another  prophecy,  ascribed  to  Fion-MacGumhaill,  the 
last  verse  of  which  runs  thus:  ^^ Until  comes  the  powerful 
failcenn,  who  will  heal  every  one  who  shall  believe ;  whose  chil- 
dren shall  bo  perpetual  as  long  as  Oothraighe's  (Patrick's)  rock 
jhall  live."  (2) 

The  monarch  became  very  indignant,  and  vowed  to  punish  the 
laring  intruder.     Accompanied  by  a  large  retinue,  he  hastentni 


(1)  Fmrto^ftr-fttl^  mcuia  the  graTM  of  the  men  of  Fiegb,  to  oalled  ftom  the  m«B  of 
Piigh,  who  dog  grayeH  ^ers  for  their  enemiea*  ctlain  in  bsttlei.  Itt  xxraMBt  lumm  ii 
3hui«.    It  WM  ftftanrwd  m»de  ».q  episcopal  see,  with  St  Ere  its  flni  biaho^>. 

(9)  P«tiiBl^^  m  t>     the  RocIk  of  Oashel ;  Ck>thnighe— ancther  nwne  of  dt  P«4Vio)( 


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UWM  OW  BT.  PATBiUlu 


in  his  wrath,  to  eztingoish  the  fire  and  punish  the  offendei 

When  Patrick  saw  them  approach,  he  chanted  the  hynm  com 

mencing 

"  Bom*  tmit  io  obarloti,  and  some  in  hortat, 
Bat  we  will  ioToke  the  ntme  of  the  Lord." 

The  Druids  cautioned  the  king  against  Patrick's  enchantments 
When  the  king  approached  the  tent  of  the  Saint,  messengers 
i^ere  sent  ahead  to  summon  him  into  his  presence — the  king  mean 
while  having  warned  his  people  not  to  rise  at  the  Saint's  approach, 
or  to  do  him  honor.  But  when  the  prelate  came  near,  attended 
by  his  disciples,  a  certain  youth  named  Ere,  the  son  of  Dego, 
rose  up  in  sight  of  all  and  did  him  honor ;.  and  Patrick  blessed 
him  and  promised  him  eternal  life,  and  he  became  distinguished 
for  his  virtues  and  miracles,  and  became  Bishop  of  Slana  Patrick 
boldly  proclaimed  the  truths  of  Christianity  before  the  king,  and 
made  such  an  impression  upon  him  and  his  followers,  that  he  was 
invited  to  preach  his  religion  before  the  assembled  nobles  at  Tars 
on  the  following  day. 

St.  Patrick  and  his  disciples  spent  the  night  in  prayer,  be 
seeching  the  Lord  to  open  the  king's  heart,  and  to  confound  hie 
evil  advisers^  The  Druids,  who  saw  in  Patrick  a  dreaded  rival, 
were  equally  active  trying  to  harden  the  king  against  him. 

Tara,  the  seat  of  a  long  line  of  kings — ^Tara,  the  home  and 
theme  of  the  bards  and  OUamhs — ^Tara,  the  temple  of  the  High 
Priest  of  Druidism — was  to  witness  a  contest  between  the  powers 
of  lighc  and  darkness ;  and  a  victory  greater  than  ever  crowned 
the  arms  of  its  proudest  monarch  was  to  crown  thft  suc.<^3s  of  the 
humble,  but  fearless,  disciple  of  the  Lord.  It  is  said  thai  through 
the  machinations  of  the  Druids,  the  king  had  resolved  on  Patrick's 
destruction,  but  strong  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Saint  defied  them, 
and  appeared  at  Court. 

St.  Patrick  fearlessly  encountered  the  snares,  the  jibes,  and  ma 
ehinations  of  his  enemies  and  the  Druids,  or  Magi  It  would  be 
tedious  to  enter  into  a  detail  of  the  contest  as  i*elated  by  the  va 
nous  ancient  biographers  of  the  Saint.  Lucad  the  Bald,  th« 
Ollamh  or  High  Priest  of  Druidism,  tried  all  his  black  arts  on  the 
Saint  without  hurting  him,  and  all  his  charms  and  incantationfi 


Lira  Of  ST.  PATBIOK. 


78 


avaUed  him  not  At  lengtli  Patrick  said  that  they  would  teil 
their  power  by  having  them  both  go  into  a  houBe,  and  hare  it  set 
on  fire,  to  see  who  would  come  out  alive ;  but  the  Druid  waa 
afraid,  as  he  said  that  Patrick  adored  fire.  Then  Patrick  said 
that  he  would  send  one  of  his  followers,  who  would  wear  for  the 
occasion  the  Druid's  garment.  The  Druid,  finding  tue  king  favor- 
ing the  miracles  of  Patrick,  invoked  all  his  gods,  and  consented. 
Benen,  one  of  Patrick's  followers,  went  into  a  part  of  the  house 
built  of  dry  wood,  and  Lucad,  the  magician,  into  a  part  built  of 
green  wood,  and  the  house  was  set  on  fire.  And  Patrick  prayed, 
and  it  came  to  pass  that  the  magician  was  consumed,  but  a  gar 
ment  of  Patrick's  which  he  wore  remained  untouched;  while 
Benen  passed  through  the  ordeal  unharmed  by  the  fire,  but  the 
garment  he  wore  belonging  to  the  D:  Jd  was  consumed.  The 
multitude  honored  the  God  of  Patrick,  and  Dubtach,  the  arch- 
poet,  or  head  of  the  bards  of  Erin,  did  honor  to  Patrick,  and 
sung  his  praise.  Whatever  truth  there  is  in  St.  Patrick's  encoun- 
ter with  the  Druids,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  his  preaching  so 
impressed  Laghaire,  that  he  gave  him  permission  to  teach  his  new 
religion  without  molestation. 

St.  Patrick  labored  with  great  prudence.  He  did  not  rudely 
assail  or  alter  customs  or  ceremonies  which  might  be  tolerated; 
many  of  them  even  were  converted  to  Christian  purpose&  As 
the  pagan  temple,  when  purified  and  dedicated,  was  employed  for 
Christian  worship,  so  even  pagan  practices,  divested  of  their 
superstitions,  might  be  retained  as  Christian.  This  was  the  wise 
policy  ever  recommended  by  Christianity,  and  was  ably  carried 
out  by  St.  Patrick.  The  days  devoted  from  old  times  to  pagan 
festivals  were  now  transferred  to  the  service  of  the  Christian  cause. 

The  feast  of  Samhain,  or  of  the  moon,  coincided  exactly  with 
All-Saints  day.  The  fires  of  May-day,  in  honor  of  Baal,  were 
transferred  to  the  24th  of  June,  in  honor  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 
Moore,  in  his  History  of  Ireland,  beautifully  e2q>resses  this  change 
thus :  "  At  every  step,  indeed,  the  transition  to  the  new  faith  was 
smoothed  by  such  coincidences  and  adaptations.  The  convert  saw 
m  the  baptismal  font  where  he  was  inmiersed  the  saored  well  at 
which  his  fathers  had  worshiped.    The  Druidical  stone  on  'the 


H 


UWM  OF  IT.  FATUCK. 


kigh  plaoM*  bore  rudely  engraved  upon  it  the  oftme  of  the  Ke 
deemer ;  and  it  was  in  general  by  the  side  of  t^e  ancient  pillar 
towcn— whose  orig'  a  was  even  then,  perhapr>  e  mystery — that, 
ID  order  to  share  in  the  solemn  feeling  which  they  inspired,  th« 
Ohristian  temples  arose.  With  the  same  the  sacred  grove  was 
anew  consecrated  to  religion,  and  the  word  Dair,  or  Oak,  so  often 
combined  with  names  of  churches  iu  Ireland,  sufficiently  mark  the 
(avorites  which  they  superseded.'* 

On  the  following  day  he  repaired  to  Tailten,  where  the  public 
games  were  celebrated,  and  to  which  the  chiefs  and  nobles  as 
sembled  at  Tara  had  adjourned.  While  preaching  at  this  place, 
his  life  was  endangered  by  Carbre,  a  brother  of  Laghaire.  The 
conduct  of  Conall,  another  brother  of  the  king,  made  amends  for 
this  violence.  He  listened  to  St  Patrick  with  delight,  and  con- 
fessed himself  a  believer  and  became  a  Christian.  Conall  offered 
the  Saint  his  dwelling-house  and  land,  and  beB  jught  him  "  to 
build  there  a  dwelling-place  for  himself  and  his  people,  and  he 
would  build  hib  own  dwelling  on  the  borders  thereof;"  and  the 
Baint  Imiit  thi  r@  a  place  now  called  Donaghpatrick,  and  with  bin 
staff  he  marki;Ml  out  the  place  of  Conall's  dwelling,  which  is  now 
called  Oristown.  The  Saint  then  blessed  Conall,  and  prophesied— 
"  Happy  and  prosperous  shall  be  this  dwelling-place,  and  happy 
shall  be  they  who  dwell  therein;  and  the  Lord  shall  confirm  thy 
throne,  and  multiply  thy  rule,  and  the  seed  of  thy  brother  shall 
serve  thy  seed  forever." 

St.  Patrick  remained  Easier  week  at  the  great  fair  of  Tailten, 
and  converted  and  baptized  several  persona  To  this  ceremony  ie 
attributed  the  festival  called  SC.  Patriots  BapHan,  After  this, 
he  visited  other  parts  of  the  County  Meath — ^those  who  attended 
the  fair  having  payed  the  way  by  carrying  to  their  homes  the 
news  of  this  strange  man,  with  his,  to  them,  strange  religion,  &e 
also  how  he  was  favorably  received  by  King  Laghaire,  and  had 
made  a  convert  of  his  brother  ConalL  His  mission  henceforth 
appears  to  have  been  attended  with  considerable  sncoess. 

During  his  early  nussion  in  Meath,  St.  Patrick  is  said  to  have 
erected  a  ^urch  at  n  place  called  Druim-Corcorthri,  now  Drum 
oonrath,  in  the  barony  of  Slane,  p       to  have  placed  over  it 


UWm  Of  n,  PATUGK.' 


76 


•JM  Diennit  He  also  owoted  a  ohnroh  at  Dmrnshallon,  neai 
Drogheda.  In  the  diatriot  of  Dilbhna>Assnill,  now  Delvin  and 
Moyoaahel,  in  Weatmeath,  he  preached  with  great  success  to  the 
inhabitants,  and  oonverted  and  baptized  large  numbers.  Hen 
he  erected  a  church,  after  meeting  with  great  opposition  from  • 
ohiefkain  named  Fergus,  a  near  lelative  of  King  Laghaire,  who 
though  the  Saint  worked  some  ^-  Aqb  in  his  presence — such  a» 
portrapng  the  sign  of  the  cr<  r>  ^  rock  by  touching  it  with 

his  staff,  and  the  like— remaii)  ,te.    He  next  went  ^o  the 

celebrated  hill  of  Uisneagh,  in  .  uoLUieath,  the  territory  around 
which  belonged  to  Fergus*  brothers,  Fiach  and  Enda. 

The  Saint  preached  before  them,  and  prophesied,  if  they  would 
be  converted,  for  them  many  blessings,  both  in  this  world  and  in 
the  next  They  expelled  the  Saint  from  the  place ;  but  £nda 
repenting,  threw  himself  before  him  and  asked  his  pardon  and 
blessing.  He  gave  the  Saint  some  land  to  erect  a  church  thero 
on,  and  his  youngest  son,  Gormao,  to  become  a  follower  of  hia 
Laogar,  another  brother,  was  also  converted  and  baptized. 

The  Saint  next  proceeded  to  Longford,  where  his  mission  was 
also  quite  successfuL  He  informs  us  that  he  left  some  of  his 
companions  to  take  care  of  these  congregations,  "who  should 
baptize  the  poor  and  the  needy,  as  the  Lord  in  the  Gospel  en 
joins.''  This  was  a  wise  precaution,  in  order  to  instruct  and 
strengthen  in  their  faith  newly-made  converts,  and  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  those  still  pagan,  and  to  bring  up  the  children  in  the 
light  of  the  true  religion.  Churches  were  erected  by  these  dif 
ferent  congregations,  the  foundation  of  which  were  attributed  to 
St.  Patrick ;  otherwise  how  can  we  account  for  the  number  he  in 
said  to  have  founded  in  L*eland  9  When  we  consider  the  simp](> 
structure  of  these  primitive  churches,  for  they  were  such  as  a  con 
gregation  might  build  in  a  few  days,  we  will  not  be  astonished 
at  the  number.  According  as  the  faithful  increased,  these  humble 
structures  gave  way  to  more  pretentious  ones. 

Having  consolidated  his  new  churches  and  congregations  il 
Meath  and  Westmeath,  he  proceeded  to  Brefny,  toward  the  plain 
of  Jliajh  Sleadhty  (1)  where  King  Laghaire  and  his  people  were 

ri)  Magh  SleaAht,  fhe  plain  in  wbieh  the  idol  stood,  aocording  to  0*DonoTMi'i  **Wfm 


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tin  or  si.  PATBinEi 


wonhiping  the  great  idol  OromrOnuMih^  or  bead  of  all  the  godi 
which  was  said  to  utter  responses,  and  which  was  richly  gilt  witL 
gold  and  precious  stonea  Around  this  idol  were  twelve  inferioi 
gods,  made  of  brasa  Hamg  failed  in  making  any  impression 
upon  the  foolish  people,  who  threw  themselves  in  adoration  before 
this  idol,  the  Saint  retired  a  Uttle  distance  to  a  hill,  and  there 
besought  God  to  destroy  it,  and  he  raised  against  it  the  Staff  of 
Jesus.  Immediately  the  idol  fell  to  pieces,  and  the  earth  swal- 
lowed up  the  inferior  gods,  and  where  it  stood  there  sprung  up  a 
dear  fountain  of  water,  in  which  many  of  those  who  had  come  to 
worship  the  idol  were  baptized.  This  idol  is  thought  to  be 
symbolical  of  the  sun,  with  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac  t3rpifiecl 
by  the  surrounding  twelve  stones,  and  is  the  only  one  in  Ireland 
of  which  we  have  any  authentic  account,  from  which  it  is  inferred 
that  the  idolatry  of  the  Irish  did  not  extend  to  graven  images. 

MMten,**  is  In  the  barony  of  TuUybaw,  County  Cayan.  Dr.  Lanigan  aays  that  it  wai 
near  Fenagli,  barony  of  Mobil,  Cjonty  Leitrim.  Fenagb  was  celebrated  aa  a  seat  o< 
learning,  having  a  college  and  monastery.  Cromleaghs,  and  other  Drtiidical  remains 
ilill  exist  there.  Brefhy,  in  which  district  it  was  situated,  signifies  the  county  of  bilh 
On  a  large  number  of  tiieae  hills  over  Cavan  and  Leitrim  are  found  numbers  of  those 
alhs  or  forts,  which  proves  that  Breftiy  had  anciently  a  large  population,  as  these  forU 
were  the  ancient  fortresses  of  the  Irish,  and  were  not,  as  is  generally  believed,  erected  bj 
die  Danes,  for  we  find  them  in  places  in  the  interior,  where  the  Danes  never  penetrated 
Hie  early  settlers  of  America,  and  (m  the  frontiers,  built  forts  and  stockades  to  protec 
bemselves  from  the  Indians  ao  Trfrb  ohiefkaina  raised  these  f^wts  for  the  protection  of 
inmselvee  and  their  clans. 


CHAPTER  III. 


n.  rATBlCV  VIblTll  iMHBAUeHT— BBMABXABUi  UTl  FOITIOiU  iHTSBTUnV  WHH  TWO  P«Ift 
RBMU— THBIB  OOHySBBIOH— HB  TtBITfi  hUOO,  AXD  VOUNIM  OBUROHBfl  1HBRB— PMI 
TBim  BOBTILITIM— HS  TUm  lUTO— IPBNDfl  THB  LBNT  OB  THB  UOVKTAXtl  09  CROASB 
PATBICX,  raOM  WHBMOB  HB  n  lAID  TO  HATB  BAB18BBD  THB  8BAKBS  FROM  IBBLABI>» 
mUCLB  4T  THB  VOimTAIN— WOBDBBTUL  COBVERBIOB  OF  THB  PBOFLB  OF  TIRAWLBT— 
rlSITS  THB  WOOD  OF  FOCLOT— THB  DBDIDB  FORM  A  CONBPIRAnT  AOAIBBT  HIM— HI 
BLBSaBS  HIB  FBIBm>  OOMAUi-WOnBNBTB  THROUGH  OONNAUOHT— THB  BIBHCF8  8B0DN 

oiiam,  ADXiLitrs,  abd  iBSBimruB  arrtvb  in  irrland— thb  baibt  yibitb  ulbtbb^ 

0U  PROCBBDIB«B  DR  TIBOOBHBL  ABD  BLBBWHBRB — C0NVBR8I0B  OF  COBAIiL  OmUBAH— 
FOUNDS  BBVBIUL  OHTmOHBft— VIBITB  LBtHBTBR— DBATH  <Mr  FAILLBB— HOflPITALITT  Ol 
4  POOR  MAN— WABBHO  OF  ▲  FUMT  AOAIBFr  HI8  LIFB— THB  FOBT  FUCH :  HIB  OBDI< 
HATIOiB. 

Afteb  tliree  years  thus  spent  in  establishing  and  str«mgthen 
ng  the  infant  church  where  he  had  cradled  its  birth,  he  resolved 
to  visit  Gonnaught,  for  he  had  not  forgotten  the  vision  he  had 
wherein  he  was  called  by  the  children  of  that  country.  He  is 
said  to  have  crossed  the  Shannon  at  a  place  called  Snav-daen, 
which  Lanigan  conjectures  to  be  the  village  of  Drumsnave,  in 
Leitrim,  and  proceed  3d  to  Dumhagraidh  (likely  Drumahare),  in 
the  same  county,  where  ha  is  said  to  have  ordained  St.  Ailbe  of 
Seanchua — not  the  great  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly.  He  then  proceeded 
to  the  plain  of  Connaught,  until  he  came  to  a  fountain  called 
Olebachf  near  the  royal  residence  of  Gruachan,  neat  which  he  and 
hio  companions  remained  for  the  night. 

Early  the  next  morning  they  arose,  and  began  to  sing  theii 
iffice,  when  two  young  princesses,  Ethnea  and  Fethlemia,  daugh* 
ters  of  King  Laghaire,  came  to  a  fountain  near  by  to  batha  They 
were  under  the  tuition  and  guardianship  of  t^vo  Druids,  whose 
names  were  Mael  and  Gaplat  When  the  maiden?^  perceived  the 
Saint  and  his  companions,  they  were  struck  with  *  -mder  at  their 
venerable  aspect  and  strange  white  garb,  and  at  the  books  out  of 
which  they  were  singing.    "  And  they  [the  princesses]  knew  not 

77 


78 


LIFB  OF  ST.  PATBIOK. 


whence  they  migbt  be ;  or  of  what  form,  or  of  what  people,  or 
of  what  country  But  they  imagined  that  they  were  men  of 
Sidhe  (men  of  the  fairy  inhabitants  of  the  forts),  or  of  the  gods 
of  the  earth,  or  of  phantoms.  The  girls  said  to  them,  *  Who  are 
ye  t  and  whence  do  ye  come  ? '  And  Patrick  said  to  them, '  Were 
it  not  better  that  yon  should  confess  the  true  God  than  to  ask 
our  nuse ) '  The  eldest  daughter  said, '  Who  is  God  9  and  where 
is  God?  Where  is  His  dwelling?  Has  your  God  sons  and 
daughters,  gold  and  silver  9  Does  He  live  forever  9  Is  He  hand- 
some 9  Has  He  many  sons  9  Are  His  daughters  beautiful,  and 
beloved  by  the  men  of  this  world  9  Is  He  in  heaven  or  on  e&rth, 
in  the  sea,  in  the  rivers,  in  the  mountains,  in  the  valleys  9  Tell 
OS  His  description ;  how  He  can  be  seen,  how  He  is  to  be  re- 
spected, how  He  is  to  be  found,  whether  in  youth  or  age  9 ' 

*^  But  St  Patrick  answering,  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  said 
'Our  God  is  the  G^od  of  all  men;  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  of  the  sea  and  of  rivers ;  the  God  of  the  sun,  and  of  the 
moon,  and  of  the  stars ;  the  God  of  the  loftiest  mountains  and 
of  the  lowest  valleys.  God  is  above  the  heavens,  and  in  the 
leaven,  and  under  the  heaven;  His  habitation  is  above  the 
heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all  things  which  are 
therein.  He  inspii  <J1  things,  He  enlivens  all  things.  He  over- 
comes all  things,  H  .apports  all  things;  He  enlightens  the  sun; 
He  strengthers  the  light  of  night  and  our  knowledge ;  He  made 
fountains  in  d/y  places,  and  dry  islands  in  the  sea ;  and  He  placed 
the  stars  for  the  office  of  the  greater  lights.  He  has  a  Son  who 
is  oo-eternal  with  Himself;  nor  is  the  Son  younger  than  the 
Father,  nor  the  Father  older  than  the  Son ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
breathes  in  them.  The  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  are 
Inseparable.  But  I  wish  that  ye  were  united  to  the  heavenly 
King,  as  ye  are  the  daughters  of  an  earthly  king.' 

**  And  the  girls  said :  If  with  one  mouth  and  one  heart  we  are 
able  to  believe  the  heavenly  King,  teach  us  most  carefully,  that 
.we  may  see  Him  face  to  face ;  point  Him  out  to  us,  and  we  will 
do  as  you  desire  us.*  ^k^  '^  ^ 

^Then  Patrick  said  to  them:  ^Do  ye  believe  that  by  baptism 
yewill'oast  away  the  sin  of  your  fathisr  and  mother?*    They 


im  or  8K  PATBIOK. 


n 


answer .  *  We  believe.'  *  Do  je  believe  repentance  after  sin  t 
'We  belidve.'  *Do  ye  believe  the  life  after  death?  Do  ye  be 
lieve  the  resurrection  on  the  day  of  judgment  ?  *  *  We  do  believe. 
'  Do  ye  believe  the  unity  of  the  Church  ?  *    *  We  believe.* 

^They  were  then  baptized,  and  he  placed  a  white  dress  on  theii 
heads;  and  they  requested  to  see  the  face  of  Christ.  But  the 
Saint  said  to  them :  'Unless  ye  taste  of  death,  ye  can  not  see  the 
face  of  Christ'  And  they  answered :  '  Give  us  the  sacrifice,  that 
we  may  be  able  to  see  God's  Son,  our  Spouse.'  And  they  received 
them  for  the  love  of  God ;  and  when  sleeping  in  death,  they 
placed  them  in  a  little  bed,  covered  with  dothes,  and  they  made 
lamentationa" 

Soon  after,  the  Saint  converted  one  Ono,  grandson  of  Bryan, 
King  of  Connaught,  who  bestowed  upon  him  his  place  called  Im 
leach  Ono,  where  the  Saint  founded  a  church,  which  subsequently 
became  the  cathedral  of  the  diocese  of  Elphin,  and  placed  Assicus 
over  it.  This  bishop  Assicus  was  a  goldsmith  and  worker  in 
metals,  and  made  altars,  book-cases,  and  church  plates  for  the 
Saint,  and  also  beautified  his  pastoral  sta£  He  made  the  altar- 
service  for  the  church  of  Armagh,  Oilfin,  and  Saul. 

The  next  foundation  of  the  Saint's  was  at  Cassiol-Irra,  or  West 
Cashal  (now  a  small  town  six  miles  south  of  Sligo),  over  which 
he  placed  one  of  his  disciples  named  Bronus.  He  next  proceeded 
to  the  county  of  Ui-Oiliolla  (now  Tererrill,  County  Sligo).  Here 
he  left  some  disciples,  among  whom  Cethenus  is  particularly 
mentioned.  He  then  visited  the  native  place  of  Cetecus,  another 
of  his  disciples.  He  next  preached  in  Huarangaradh  (now  Oran, 
in  the  County  Roscommon).  Near  this  place  he  erected  a  church 
called  Killgaradh,  where  he  left  some  of  his  disciples  who  had 
accompanied  him  from  Gaul.  Then  he  went  to  Magh-Seola, 
County  Galway,  where  he  held  a  synod,  at  which  were  present 
Bishops  Sacellus  of  Baslear-Mor  (now  Baslick,  in  Boscommon), 
and  Felartus  of  Domhnach-Mor  (now  Donaghpatrick,  barony  oi 
Clara,  County  Galway).  He  next  laid  the  foundation  of  a  church 
at  Drumnea,  near  Lough  Gara,  County  Sligo.  While  journeying 
here  he  pacified  two  brothers,  named  Bilraid  and  Lacndd,  who 
inarreUed  about  the  divinoii  of  their  inheritanoe^   They  gntt 


^5  I 

4 


80 


LDTK  OF  n.   PATBIOK. 


folly  gave  him  a  field,  on  wbich  be  erected  a  drarob,  and  placed 
over  it  Oona.  He  next  went  into  the  barony  of  Costelloe,  Gonnty 
Mayo,  where  he  built  another  church,  over  which  he  placed  a 
priest  named  Loam.  He  next  preached  in  the  barony  of  Carragh, 
and  converted  and  baptized  a  great  number,  ove?  whom  he  placed 
a  priest  named  Oonan.  Here  a  pagan  attempted  to  take  his  life, 
but  the  Lord  frustrated  his  design.  He  next  went  to  Hymallia, 
the  territory  of  the  O^Malleys,  and  founded  a  church  at  Achad 
Fobhair  (now  Aghagower),  and  placed  over  it  Senachus,  lately 
consecrated  bishop. 

While  thus  laboring  for  the  salvation  of  others,  be  was  not  un- 
mindful of  his  own,  and  he  resolved  to  interrupt  his  mission  for 
a  while  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  prayer  and  meditation.  It 
being  the  holy  season  of  Lent,  he  retired  for  some  time  to  a 
mountain  in  Gonnaught,  called  Gruachan-Aichle,  or  Mount  Eagle, 
or,  more  properly,  Groagh-Patrick.  Here  he  is  said  to  have  spent 
the  entire  Lent  in  fasting  and  prayer.  It  is  not  probable  that  he 
stayed  so  long  away  from  his  missionary  labors,  but  simply  made 
a  retreat  there. 

While  here,  we  are  informed  by  some  of  his  biographers,  he 
was  assailed  by  demons  and  vicious  creatures,  all  of  which  he 
overcame ;  and  Jocylin  adds :  ''  To  this  place  he  gathered  together 
the  several  tribes  of  serpents  and  venomous  creatures,  and  drove 
them  headlong  into  the  Western  Ocean,  and  that  from  hence  hath 
proceeded  the  exemption  which  Ireland  enjoys  from  all  poisonous 
reptiles." 

None  of  the  early  writers  of  St.  Patrick's  life  make  the  least 
allusion  to  this  wholesale  destruction  of  reptiles.  We  find  it 
mantioned  for  the  first  time  in  the  writings  of  Jocylin,  in  the 
twelfth  century.  It  is  a  well-established  fact,  that  Ireland  was 
free  from  all  poisonous  animals  long  anterior  to  the  introduction 
of  Gbristianity.  Solinus,  who  wrote  one  hundred  years  before 
St  Patrick'i  mission,  mentiops  this;  and  Isidore,  Bishop  of 
^viUe,  who  wrote  in  the  seventh  century,  informs  us  that  no 
renomous  animals  were  ever  known  to  e2dst  in  Ireland.  The 
Venerable  Bede  also  refers  to  it,  but  is  silent  as  to  the  cause. 

K.eating,  in  his  History  of  Ireland,  states  that  there  were  oc 


UFB  OF  ST.   PATBIOX. 


ii 


venomous  serpents  in  Ireland  in  the  time  ot  Si  Patrick,  and  ac- 
coants  for  it  thus :  *^  Niul,  the  son  of  Finius,  King  of  Gapaciront 
who  had  married  So>ta,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Egypt,  had  b^ 
her  a  son  named  GaidhaL  Moses,  in  his  flight  from  Phai'aoh,  en 
camped  near  Niul's,  and  a  friendship  sprang  up  between  them 
A.  serpent  h'wing  bit  Gaidhal,  Moses  cured  him,  and  foretold 
that  wherever  his  posterity  should  inhabit,  no  veDomous  creature 
would  have  any  power.  And  the  Irish  being  descended  from 
him,  are  free  from  the  pests." 

It  is  said  that  serpents  introduced  into  the  country  soon  dia 
There  are  no  moles  in  the  country ;  and  Mrs.  Hall  mentions  that 
Scottish  gentlemen  import  Irish  earth  from  the  North  to  spread 
on  their  pleasure-grounds  to  kill  the  moles.  Within  the  last  can 
tury  frogs  were  imported  into  Ireland,  and  they  seem  to  thrive 
remarkably  well 

The  Island  of  Crete,  and  some  other  places,  enjoyed  similar  ei 
emption  from  venomous  animals,  which  our  best  vmters  attribute 
to  the  influences  of  soil  and  climate.  Rothe  compares  this  quality, 
bestowed  upon  Irish  soil  through  the  prayers  of  St.  Patrick,  with 
that  conferred  on  Malta  by  the  merits  of  St.  Paul,  with  this  dif 
ference,  he  adds, "  that  while  in  Malta,  serpents,  adders,  and  other 
venomous  reptiles  retain  their  life  and  motion,  and  lose  only  their 
poisonous  power,  in  Ireland  they  can  neither  hurt  nor  exist,  inas 
much  as  not  only  the  soil,  but  the  climate  and  the  atmosphere 
are  unto  them  instant  deatL"    v     .  *  w- 

How  long  St.  Patrick  remained  in  prayer  and  fasting  on 
Groagh-Patrick  is  not  clearly  defined  by  his  biographers.  Some 
state  that  he  spent  the  entire  Lent  upon  it ;  but  it  is  not  likely 
that  he  would  remain  away  so  long  at  that  precious  season  from 
his  oonverta  It  is  said  that  while  here  he  blessed  Connemara ; 
but  it  looked  so  bleak,  barren,  and  rugged,  that  he  declined  enter 
ing  it  ■"  -■':'■■•-''"•'■■>■■-'-' 

After  his  retreat  on  the  mountain,  the  Saint  went  to  Carco 
thimne,  a  district  not  far  distant,  "  and  to  the  fountain  of  Sinn, 
where  he  baptized  many  thousands;  and  he  also  founded  three 
churches  in  Toga.  And  he  came  to  the  fountain  of  Finn-Maigeo, 
which  is  called  Slane,  because  it  was  indicated  to  him  that  the 


8S 


UWM  Of  IS.  FATBIOIi 


ICagi  honored  this  foantaiii,  and  made  donation!  to  it  aa  gifU 
onto  a  god.  The  fountain  was  square,  and  there  was  a  square 
■tone  on  the  mouth  of  it;  and  the  water  came  over  the  sione— ■ 
that  is,  through  the  interstices — as  off  the  face  of  a  king ;  and  th« 
inbelievers  said  that  a  certain  dead  prophet  had  made  for  him- 
self a  study,  or  conservatory,  in  the  water  under  the  rock,  that  it 
might  whiten  and  preserve  his  bones,  for  he  feared  to  be  burned 
with  fire ;  for  they  worshiped  the  fountain  like  a  god,  which  waa 
unlawful  in  the  eyes  of  Patrick,  because  of  the  adoration ;  for  he 
had  aeal  for  God — ^for  the  living  God.  He  said,  *  It  is  not  true 
what  you  say,  that  the  King  of  Waters  is  in  this  fountain '  (for 
they  gave  to  the  fountain  the  name  of  the  King  of  the  Waters) ;  and 
the  magicians  and  the  gentiles  of  that  country  were  assembled  at 
the  fountain,  together  with  a  great  multitude  besides. 

^  And  Patrick  said  to  them,  *  Raise  up  the  rock ;  let  us  see 
what  is  underneath,  if  there  are  bones  or  not ;  for  I  say  unto  yon 
that  the  bones  of  the  man  are  not  under;  but  I  think  there  is 
some  gold  and  silver  appearing  through  the  joinings  of  the  stones, 
from  your  wicked  sacrificea* 

**  And  they  would  not  lift  the  stone.  And'  Patrick  and  his 
oumpanions  blessed  the  stone ;  and  he  said  to  the  multitude, '  Re- 
tire apart  for  a  little,  that  ye  may  perceive  the  power  of  my  God, 
who  dwells  in  the  heavens.'  7  hen  he  lifted  the  stone  with  ex- 
pert hands  from  the  mouth  of  the  fountain,  and  he  placed  it 
where  it  now  remains ;  and  they  found  nothing  in  the  fountain 
but  water  only.  And  they  believed  the  Supreme  God.  And 
there  sat  down  by  the  stone,  a  little  way  off,  a  certain  man  named 
Cata,  whom  Patrick  blessed  and  baptized ;  and  he  said  to  him, 
'Thy  seed  shall  be  blessed  forever.' 

''There  was  a  little  church  in  Toga,  in  the  Country  of  Garco* 
thimne,  belonging  to  Patrick;  Gainechus,  the  bishop,  a  monk  of 
St  Patrick's,  founded  it." 

From  this  he  proceeded  nort}iward  until  he  came  to  Ti^ 
Amalgaidh  (now  Tirawley),  where  the  seven  sons  of  King 
Amalgaidh  were  disputing  the  succession,  which  had  been  de- 
cided by  King  Laghaire  in  favor  of  Enda  Orom.  The  seven  mva 
and  their  followers  were  Msembled  at  a  pUoe  oaUed  f  arracb 


Lira  or  n.  patuok. 


M 


Mac-u  AiL.algaicili.  St.  Patrick,  profiting  by  bo  large  a  crowd, 
boldly  went  among  them,  inflamed  by  Divine  zeal ;  for  he  reooL 
lected  his  vision  in  which  the  children  of  Foclut  called  on  him  to 
X)me  among  them.  He  preached  to  the  multitude,  and  gained 
over  to  Ohrist  the  seven  princes  and  the  king,  with  twelve  thou- 
sand others — all  of  whom  he  baptized  in  the  water  of  Tubber* 
enadhaire,  the  well  of  £nadhaire.  This  great  conversion  is  men* 
cloned  in  most  of  the  Lives  of  St.  Patrick,  and  also  by  Nenniui 
in  his  History  of  the  Britons.  He  entrusted  the  care  of  this  large 
community  to  St  Manchen,  sumamed  the  Master. 

St.  Patrick  founded  the  church  of  Domhnach-Mor,  over  which 
he  placed  Bishop  Muena ;  and  the  church  of  Killala,  for  which 
he  designated  Muredach,  one  of  his  disciples. 

About  this  time  a  wicked  conspiracy  was  formed  against  'q 
life,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Druids,  two  of  whom,  Koen  i 
Recraid,  were  the  chief  plotters.  This  attempt  was  at  a  place 
called  Kill-fordain,  neai'  Crosspatrick.  Old  works  state  that  the 
Lord  struck  the  chief  plotters  dead,  and  the  others  became  terri* 
fied.  But  the  Saint  himself  gives  the  following  account  of  it  in 
his  Confessions :  ''  For  your  sakes,  amidst  many  dangers,  I  pro- 
ceeded even  to  the  remote  parts,  where  no  one  had  ever  been  bO' 
fore  me,  and  where  no  on^  had  ever  come  to  baptize  or  to  ordain 
priests,  or  to  confirm  the  ^(  >ple  in  the  faith,  which,  by  the  mercy 
of  the  Lord,  I  willingly  did  for  your  salvation,  la  the  meantime 
I  gave  gifts  to  kings,  besides  what  I  gave  to  th^ir  sons  who  walk 
with  mei;  and  nevertheless  they  seized  me  now,  with  my  com- 
panions, and  in  that  day  they  vehemently  desired  to  kUl  m& 
But  my  time  had  not  yet  come,  although  they  plundered  and 
stole  all  that  they  found  with  us,  and  bound  me  with  chains.  On 
the  fourteenth  day  the  Lord  delivered  me  from  their  power, 
through  the  agency  of  some  good  friends,  and  all  that  belonged 
to  us  was  restored." 

Tirechan,  in  his  Antiquities,  says  that  Enda,  the  chief  of  the 
territory,  when  he  knew  the  danger  of  Patrick,  sent  his  son  Oonall 
to  protect  him  from  the  fury  of  Recraid,  who  had  gathered  a 
great  crowd  of  magicians,  or  Druids,  and  was  advancing  against 
him  with  nine  principal  Druids,  all  clad  in  white  garments. 


84 


Un  OF  IT.  PAimiCK. 


Befcira  leaving  Tinwley  he  went  to  a  plaoe  near  the  Biva 
lloy,  afterward  called  lia-na-Manaoh,  or  Bock  of  the  Monkit,  on 
■ouonnt  of  some  monks  who  dwelt  there,  and  there  oonverted  and 
baptised  a  prince  named  Eochad,  son  of  the  former  monarch 
OatUy.  He  alao  visited  the  district  called  the  Gilagraidh  (now 
the  Gregories),  in  the  county  of  Sligo,  where  he  was  badly  re- 
oeived,  and  expelled  by  the  Dmida  He  crossed  the  Moy  near 
its  mouth,  and  entered  Hy-Fiachra  (now  Tireragh,  in  Sligo),  and 
proceeded  along  the  coast,  and  is  said  to  have  baptized  seven 
sons  of  one  Drogan,  and  to  have  selected  one  of  them  (MacEroa) 
to  be  educated  for  a  religious  life.  As  his  parents  were  much 
attached  to  him,  he  left  him  in  care  of  Bishop  Brone,  who  re- 
sided near;  and  this  MacErca  was  afterward  placed  over  the 
church  of  Kilroe-Mor  (now  Eilroe,  in  the  parish  of  Killala,  and 
barony  of  Tirawley). 

Oontinuing  his  route  along  the  northern  coast,  he  arrived  at  the 
Biver  Sligo  (now  the  Gitey),  where  he  was  kindly  entertained  by 
some  fishermen,  who  were  very  poor.  At  the  suggestion  of  the 
Saint,  they  threw  out  their  nets,  and,  although  it  was  winter, 
they  were  rewarded  with  a  great  hauL  He  next  went  as  far  as 
Moylburg,  where  he  was  badly  received  by  {he  family  of  Mac- 
Erca, but  a  holy  man  named  Mancus  having  interceded  for  them, 
a  reconciliation  took  place. 

He  then  returned  to  Galregia,  whose  inhabitants  had  some  time 
previously  tried  to  expel  him  from  their  district,  and  there  bap 
tiled  a  certain  Macarthur,  at  Dromohaire,  and  erected  a  monastery 
at  JDruimlias,  over  which  he  placed  Benignus,  who  is  said  to  have 
governed  it  for  twenty  years.  From  that  county  he  went  to 
Oashel-Irra  and  DrumcUff  until  he  arrived  in  Ulster. 

He  thus  closed  his  missionary  labors  in  Oonnaught,  after  having 
spent  seven  years  in  it,  and  traversing  the  most  part  of  it,  con- 
verting and  baptizing  the  inhabitants,  forming  them  into  religioiu 
oonmiunities,  and  appointing  pastors  over  thent  Jocylin  assigns 
leven  years  to  Si  Patrick's  mission  in  Oonnaught ;  and  Dr.  Lani 
gan  states  that  he  returned  to  Ulster  in  the  year  442. 

Having  arrived  in  the  province  of  Ulster,  St  Patrick  began  to 
preach  in  the  territory  of  Tiroonnell  (now  Donegal),  and  erected  i 


^1 


-.^- 


LIVl  or  n.  VATBIOK. 


8ft 


flhumh  at  Rath-OiiugA,  in  the  digtriot  of  Tir^AedliA  (now  TirhugK 
in  Donegal).  He  went  toward  the  River  £me,  and  gave  hii 
bleasing  to  Prince  C  snail,  a  brother  of  King  Laghaire,  and  to  hii 
•on  Fergoa.  On  this  oooasion  he  is  said  to  have  foretold  the  birth 
and  extraordinary  sanctity  of  Oolumba,  who  was  to  descend  from 
Fergus. 

He  then  went  to  a  small  district  called  Magh-Iotha  (now  called 
Lagan,  situate  in  the  barony  of  Raphoe,  and  county  of  Donegal), 
where  he  founded  a  church  called  Domhnaoh-Mor  (Donaghmore), 
and  placed  over  it  Dubhuduban.  He  next  entered  Inishowen, 
whose  chief^  Owen,  he  blessed,  and  spent  some  time  with  him,  at 
his  residence  at  AileaoL  He  next  crossed  «  Foyle,  and  re- 
mained seven  weeks  near  the  River  Faughuu,  in  the  barony  oi 
Terkerrin,  in  the  Gounty  Derry.  Here  he  is  said  to  have  built 
seven  churches,  one  of  which  he  called  Domhnach — ^that  is,  be 
longing  to  the  Lord ;  and  over  one  of  them  he  placed  a  pioui 
priest  named  Connedas.  After  the  departure  of  St  Patrick,  Oon 
nedas  followed  him,  and  the  Saint  asked  him  why  he  left,  and  he 
answered  "  that  he  could  not  bear  to  be  separated  firom  his  bo 
loved  father.''  The  Saint  rebuked  him,  and  told  him  that  he 
feared  they  would  shed  his  blood,  since  they  were  men  of  blood 
but  to  return  and  fear  not,  for  no  man's  blood  wquld  be  shed 
and  the  words  of  the  Saint  were  fully  confirmed. 

The  Saint  returned  to  Liishowen,  and  founded  the  church  of 
Domhnach-Mor  Muighe  Tochaire,  at  the  foot  of  SUeve  Snaght,  in 
the  barony  of  Inishowen,  County  of  Donegal,  over  which  he  placed 
one  Maocarthan.  He  also  marked  out  the  site  of  a  church  at 
Magh-Bile  (Moville),  and  gave  the  tonsure  to  Aengus,  son  of 
Olilid,  and  grandson  of  Owen.  He  crossed  Lough  Foyle,  and 
proceeded  to  Dun-Oruthen,  in  Keenaght,  a  townland  in  the  parish 
of  Ardmaghgilligan,  in  the  Gounty  of  Londonderry,  and  placed 
over  them  one  Beatua  He  proceeded  next  east  of  the  Ban,  through 
the  territory  of  Dalriada.  Here  he  baptized  a  posthumous  infant^ 
Olcan,  who  afterward  became  the  first  bishop  of  Derkan.  He 
is  said  to  have  founded  several  churches  here.  Archdall  men 
tions  the  churches  of  Rath-Modan  (now  Ramone) ;  Tullach  (no^ 
Dnuntoullagh);  Druinn-IndichCnowDromeeny);  Ouil-fischerasar 


86 


un  or  BT.  PATmiox. 


(DOW  Oulfeightriro),  and  others.    He  also  bleated  the  foitreii  o1 
Dun-Sobairgi  (now  Duneeverick). 

From  Dalriada  the  Saint  passed  into  Dalradia,  an  adjoining 
territory,  where  he  founded  a  great  number  of  churches,  of  Jirhich 
Arohdall  enumerates  sixteen.  In  this  district  he  was  opposed  hy 
a  chieftain  near  Lough  Ethaoh  (now  Lough  Neagh),  named  Oar- 
then,  and  driven  fh>m  the  territory.  A  younger  brother,  also 
aamed  Garthen,  submitted  to  the  Saint,  and  became  a  convert. 
While  baptizing  his  wife,  he  foretold  that  she  should  bring  forth 
a  daughter,  to  whom  he  would  givo  the  veil — all  of  which  was 
ftilfllled  in  the  virgin  Treha. 

We  next  find  the  Saint  at  a  place  called  Oaura,  near  Lough 
Neagh,  where  he  was  also  badly  received.  He  then  turned  ofi 
to  the  district  of  Inichlair,  and  having  converted  a  great  number, 
he  placed  over  them  a  priest  named  Golumb.  A  daughter  of  a 
chieftain,  Echodius,  named  Cynnia,  became  a  Christian,  and  took 
the  veil  despite  the  opposition  of  her  father.  Thence  he  went  to 
the  territory  of  Hy-Meith-tire,  in  the  present  County  Monaghan, 
and  erected  a  church  at  Teaghtalion  (now  Tehallen),  and  placed 
over  it  Bishop  Killen.  Here  he  baptized  Owen,  son  of  Brian, 
chief  of  the  district,  and  a  great  number  of  the  people.  He  next 
went  to  the  adjoining  territory  of  the  MogdumI  (the  present 
Cremome,  in  Monaghan),  and  arrived  at  a  place  now  called 
Donaghmoine,  over  which  a  man  named  Victor  ruled,  who,  though 
at  first  opposed  to  the  Saint,  soon  repented,  and  he  and  his  house- 
hold became  converts.  '*  And  after  a  while  he  increased  in  holi 
ness  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Divine  law ;  and  being  at  length 
consecrated  by  St.  Patrick,  he  received  in  that  church  the  epis 
oopal  degree,  and  for  his  virtues  and  merits  was  very  much  re- 
nowned." 

JVom  the  country  of  the  Mogdumi  the  Saint  proceeded  to 
Bieath,  and  preached  for  some  time  in  the  northern  part;  and 
thence  he  proceeded,  to  Bile-Tortan,  near  Ardbraccan,  in  the 
barony  of  Navan,  where  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  church  called 
Domnach-Tortan  (most  likely  Donaghmore,  near  Navan),  and 
placed  over  it  a  priest  named  Justin.  He  also  visited  the  country 
about  Slane;  and  Dr.  Lanigan  thinks  that  it  was  on  this  occasioi 


UVa  OF  IT.  PATBIOI. 


IT 


ke  left  the  Binhop  S«(  undiDUt  to  preside  over  the  new  ohorohei 
and  oonyerte  ic  Meath  aud  io  Ulster,  while  he  was  proceeding  in 
hia  miision  through  Leinster  aud  Manater. 

From  this  our  Apostle  moved  into  Leinster,  and  went  directly 
to  Naas,  the  usual  residence  of  the  kings  of  LeinHter.  Here  he 
baptised  two  princeS|  Ailid  and  Band,  the  sons  of  Duulung,  ths 
reigning  king. 

A  terrible  Judgment  inflicted  upon  one  Foillen,  an  officer  of 
the  court,  ended  the  Saint's  mission.  When  Patrick  preached, 
this  Foillen,  who  was  a  bigoted  idolater,  feigned  to  be  asleep,  in 
order  not  to  hoar  the  Saint's  preaching.  *'  Asleep  I  ^  exclaimed 
the  Saint ;  "  well,  let  him  sleep,  and  let  him  not  wake  or  rise  be 
fore  the  day  of  judgment;"  and  1)19  man  was  found  dead;  and  it 
>ecame  a  proverb,  when  a  person  wished  harm  tu  another  to  say, 

May  he  sleep  as  Foillen  did  in  the  Castle  of  Naas." 

St  Patrick  next  turned  into  Hy-Garchon,  or  WicLlow,  where 
le  was  badly  received  by  the  ruling  prince,  Drichii,  son-in-law 
)f  King  Laghaire.  He  was  hospitably  entertained  by  a  pool 
aian  named  Killin,  who  had  killed  his  only  cow  to  entertain  the 
Saint  and  hit  oompaniona  The  Saint  blessed  him,  and  he  and 
his  substance  daily  prospered. 

St  Patrick  went  next  to  Moy-Liffey,  the  present  County  oi 
Kildare,  where  he  converted  great  numbers,  and  founded  several 
churches.  He  left  Iseminus  over  the  church  of  KilcuUen,  and 
Auxilius  bishop  of  Killossey.  He  then  went  to  Leix-Kow,  part 
sf  the  Queen's  County ;  but  the  inhabitants,  being  adverse  to  the 
Saint,  dug  deep  pits  and  covered  them  over,  so  that  he  and  his 
followers  might  faU.  into  them ;  but  a  pious  lady  named  Briga  in- 
formed him  of  his  danger.  He  converted  her  father,  and  gave 
the  veil  to  some  ladies.  He  then  proceeded  to  the  house  of  Dul> 
tach,  the  poet,  whom  he  had  converted  at  Tara.  Dubtach  was 
jverjoyed  at  this  vibit  from  the  Saint,  and  we  may  imagine  that 
vhey  freely  discussed  events  since  that  memorable  day  they  met 
first  at  Tara. 

St  Patrick  inquired  of  Dubtach  if  he  knew  any  one  fit  to  V 
advanced  to  holy  orders.  He  informed  him  that  he  had  a  di» 
iiple  named  Fiach,  whom  he  considered  well-disposed,  but  UuU 


UWm  aw  8T.  PATBIOE. 


(  i 


b«  WM  then  abeent  in  Oonnanght,  to  present  some  poems  of  Dul 
taoh's  composition  to  the  princes  there.  Fiaoh,  having  retnmed 
was  presented  to  Si  Patrick,  who,  finding  him  already  well  in 
stmcted  in  the  faith  by  Dubtach,  taught  him  the  rudiments  o 
the  Latin  tongue,  and  soon  afterward  advanced  him  to  ecclesi 
astical  orders  The  Book  of  Armagh  thus  notices  his  ordination 
"  And  Patrick  conferred  the  degree  of  bishop  upon  Fiach ;  and 
ud  gave  to  Fiaoh  a  cumtach  (box)  containing  a  oell,  and  a  minstei 
(relics),  and  a  croiier,  and  r.  poolire  (leather  satchel)."  St.  Fiacb 
lived  at  Sletty  to  a  very  old  age,  having  survived  sixty  of  his 
disciples,  and  was  held  in  great  respect  and  veneration.  St 
Patrick  is  said  to  have  received  great  encouragement  from  End, 
King  of  Hy-Kensellagh.  This  prince,  though  hostile  to  Fiach, 
was  a  pious  man,  and  founded  and  endowed  several  churches, 
one  of  which  is  <stated  to  have  been  at  Innisfail,  and  another  at 
Innisbeg. 

The  Saint  next  moved  into  Ossory,  where,  we  are  told,  he  con 
verted  numbers  of  people,  and  founded  many  churches.  Ossory 
\hen  belonged  to  Leinster,  and  extended  from  the  Slieve  Bloom 
mountains  to  the  meeting  of  the  three  waters  in  ^a,*^erfoT^  •lu) 
Amn  the  Suiv  to  the  Barrow. 


CHAPTER  I\ 


«  Tuaaak.  rxxnwiw  10  mnrami— hu  tibit  to  OAiABir  ^as  (mmm  ov  OAuair— m 
■aoimoir  bt  thv  uxe— his  baftibm— runrr  or  pbirob  AaKem— thb  iaiht  n- 
oommM  Mini  opFonTioit-KBtraBi  umRicK— votrniM  lom  okuBoaM  m  dom 

VOT  UriaB  KBBRT,  BOT  BUUBKS  IT— HI  JOURHKTB  THBOUOH  THB  XOflT  OV  M01ltr«E-~ 

4BireTni  axd  a  it^BOB  BBmnix  attbbd  hdc  on  hu  dbpartubb— hb  bbtubbb  to 

CiUHRBB-^XABTTBUOX  OT  ODBAB.  HI8  OHABIOTBBB— OOBTBBBIOB  OV  MAOOALDOB,  A 
dOBBBB— HB  AFFOQlTB  BOMB  BIBH0F8--IOXnn>ATI0H  OF  THB  OHOBOK  09  ABMASH— 
/OmUf BT  TO  BOMB— KBLIOB  AT  ABKAOH— BTNODB  HBLD  VT  BT.  PATBICK— LABT  njJIHBB 
OF  THB  BAIHT— HIB  OBATH  ABD  VUBBBAL  OBBBQinSB— IB  BXJBIBO  IB  DOWN— THB 
TBAHBLATIOB  OF  THB  BBMADfB  OF  BT.  BBIDOBT  ABD  BT.  COLITHBKIU.  TO  THB  BAMB 
«BATH— THBIB  BBHAINB  DIBOOTBBBD  BT  MALACHT— THBIB  80LBXB  TBABBLATION  IK 
FBHBBBOB  OF  CBDIBAL  YITIAB,  JOHB  DB  COUBCT,  ABD  A  I.AI10B  ATTBBDABOB  OF 
BUHOn, FBOnB.  ABD  ABBOTS— BBTBBBBCB  TO  THB  BAXB  ABD  MBMOBT  OF  BT.  PATBICK. 

From  Ossory  Si  Patrick  proceeded  to  Mnnster,  and  went 
straiglit  to  CasheL  This  took  place  about  the  beginning  of  the 
year  446.  As  else^vhere,  he  directed  his  first  efforts  toward  the 
seat  of  royalty  itself,  knowing  full  well  that  it  he  once  converted 
the  king,  his  subjects  would  soon  follow.  The  ancient  Irish  name 
of  Gashel  was  Sidhdruin-Gorc.  Gore  was  King  of  Munster  about 
the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  and  built  a  fort  on  the  rock,  from  which 
it  was  called  Gore's  city.  This  fort  was  called  Gaiseal,  which  is 
the  Gaedhelio  for  a  stone  fort  or  wall,  whence,  most  likely,  the 
name  of  Gashel ;  though  some  think  that  Gashel  derives  its  name 
from  Oaia-ilf  which  signifies  a  sUmet  upon  which  the  king's  sub* 
jects  paid  down  tribute. 

King  Aengua  or  more  likely  his  father,  Natfroioh,  when  he 
heard  that  the  Saint  was  approaching  the  city,  went  out  to  meet 
him.  "And  the  king  met  the  holy  prelate,  rejoicing  and  giving 
thaoJu  in  the  exultation  of  his  heart,  as  on  that  day  an  ocoasioD 
of  joy  and  belief  was  ministered  to  him."  It  is  said  thai  at  the 
approach  of  the  Saint  the  idols  in  the  pagan  temple  fell  down 
and  were  Hnasbed  to  pieces.    And  the  king  brought  him  with 

89 


90 


Lira  03t  ST.  PATfilOX. 


\\ 


great  reverence  and  honor  unto  his  palace  in  the  city  of  Oashel, 
because  his  mind  had  longed  for  him  for  a  long  time,  by  reason 
of  the  manifold  miracles  which  he  knew  had  been  performed  hy 
the  Saint  The  king  was  soon  after  baptised,  with  his  son  Aen- 
gus,  who  became,  henceforth,  very  zealous  in  propagating  thn 
Gospel  in  Munster.  After  the  ceremony  of  baptism  was  com 
pleted,  Aengus  advanced  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Saint,  and 
in  order  to  obtain  it,  pressed  so  close  to  him  that  the  iron  point 
of  Patrick*s  staff  pierced  his  foot,  causing  him  great  pain.  The 
prince  bora  his  sufferings  without  a  murmur ;  and  when  Patrick, 
at  the  close  of  the  blessing,  perceiving  the  wound,  asked  him  why 
he  did  not  make  it  known,  he  replied  that  he  considered  tho 
piercing  of  his  foot  a  part  of  the  ceremony,  and  cheerfully  sub- 
mitted to  it  Patrick,  admiring  the  strong  faith  of  the  young 
prince  which  could  make  him  suppress  his  natural  feelings 
through  the  desire  of  heavenly  things,  renewed  his  blessing  upon 
him  and  his  race.  In  Oashel  there  remained  a  tablet  of  stone, 
whereon  the  Saint  is  said  to  have  celebrated  the  Holy  Mysteries ; 
t  was  called  by  the  Irish  Leac  Phadruig — that  is  the  stone  of 
St  Patrick ;  and  on  this  stone,  in  reverence  of  him.  the  kings  of 
Cashel  were  wont  to  bt  crowned,  and  to  be  advanced  to  the 
throne  of  their  kingdom. 

Thus  did  the  Saint's  mission  in  Munster  commence  most  aus- 
piciously, and  for  the  seven  years  he  spent  in  that  province  he  was 
remarkably  successful.  That  he  met  with  some  opposition,  even 
from  Christians,  appears  from  his  Confessions ;  but  there  is  no 
real  ground  for  statiug  that  he  was  opposed  by  SS.  Ailbe,  Declan, 
[bar,  and  Kieran,  who  are  said  to  have  been  bishops  before  him 
Dr.  Lanigan,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  clearly  establishes  the 
tact  that  they  wer  e  disciples  of  his,  and  were  quite  young  when 
he  commenced  his  mission  in  Ireland,  as  is  evident  from  their  sur 
viving  him  so  many  years.  He  also  proves  that  there  was  no 
lynod  held  at  this  time  in  CasheL 

After  leaving  Cashel,  the  Saiut  visited  the  district  of  Muscraighe 
(Muskery)  Breogain,  where  he  founded  several  churches,  among 
ihem  that  of  Kill-fiachla  (the  present  Kil-feacle).  Thence  he 
went  to  the  territory  Gabra-Ara-Gliach,  in  the  counties  of  Lim* 


LOn  OF  ST.   PATRICK. 


91 


ariok  and  Tipperary,  in  a  part  of  whioh  (Hy-Ouanaoh,  barony  d 
Ooonagh)  he  was  violently  opposed  by  a  chief  named  Oleld 
After  a  time,  Okld  repented,  and  he  and  his  family,  and  subjects 
vrere  all  baptized.  *'And  thence  the  Saint  proceeded  to  Urmonia^ 
a  district  east  of  Limerick,  that  ho  might  pluck  the  thorns  and 
branches  of  error  out  of  that  place,  and  sow  in  their  stead  a  spir 
itual  harvest ;"  and  a  certain  man  named  Lonan  freely  re<^«ivod 
him,  and  made  for  him  and  hin  companions  a  great  supper.  Dur 
ing  the  repast,  while  the  Saint  labored  to  fill  their  minds  with 
the  Word  of  Life,  a  ceiiain  wicked  man  named  Dercard  ap^ 
preached,  and  with  rude,  importunate  speech,  wearying  the  ears 
of  the  Sfint  and  stopping  his  discourse,  demanded  of  him  food 
The  Saint  mildly  gave  him  and  his  party  a  roasted  sheep  which 
a  young  man  named  Nessan  and  his  mother  were  biinging  to  his 
table.  This  Nessan  was  baptized  by  the  Saint ;  and  after  some 
time,  he  was  placed  over  the  monastery  of  Mungret,  which  in 
course  of  time  became  much  celebrated,  and  to-day  presents  some 
venerable  and  remarkable  ruins. 

Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Clare  (then  Thomond,  or  North 
Munster)  crossed  the  Shannon  to  see  and  hear  St.  Patrick,  and  he 
baptized  several  of  them  in  the  fie^d  of  Tirglais.  Ho  was  also 
visited  by  Prince  Oarthen,  son  of  Blod,  a  chieftain  of  North  Mun- 
ster, whom  he  baptized  at  Singland,  near  Limerick.  The  men 
of  Thomond  entreated  the  Saint  to  visit  tiieir  cctuntry,  but  he 
could  not  comply;  but  having  ascended  Mount . Fintine  (now 
ITnockpatrick,  near  Donaghmore),  he  blessed  Thomond,  and  fore- 
told the  birth  of  St.  Senan  of  Iniscattery.  He  then  proceeded 
to  Luachra,  and  while  there  he  prophesied  the  birth  of  St.  Bren- 
dan, the  star  of  the  Western  World,  and  that  his  birth  would  be 
several  years  after  his  own  death.  He  did  not  enter  Kerry,  but 
bkssed  the  country  beyond  Luachra. 

Turning  back,  he  entered  South  Munster,  or  Desmond,  wherf 
he  18  said  to  have  founded  a  number  of  churches.  He  also  vis 
ited  the  southern  part  of  Desii,  Waterford,  and,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  chieftain  Fergar,  and  other  nobles,  he  arranged  the 
ecclesiastical  affairs  of  that  territory.  He  was  kindly  received  by 
the  inhabitants  along  the  river  Suir;  and  he  continued  his  mi» 


M 


uwm  or  tr.  patbiok. 


Eh? 


vion  through  Tipperary,  until  he  reached  Lower  Ormond,  where 
among  others,  he  conTerted  two  brothers  of  a  powerful  family 
named  Munech  and  Meachair. 

The  Saint  next  passed  into  Louth,  and  resolved  to  build  a 
ohurch  and  establish  a  permanent  see  near  the  present  town  of 
Tiouth,  but  an  angel  informed  him  that  it  was  reserved  for  Moo 
tens  to  found  a  church  there,  and  that  he  should  establish  his  see 
at  Ardmacha,  now  Armagh.  The  Saint  withdrew,  and  built  a 
church  at  Ardpatrick.  Mocteus  soon  afterward  established  s 
monastery  at  Louth,  where  he  was  often  visited  by  St.  Patrick 
He  was  a  holy  bishop,  and  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  died  in  thr 
year  686. 

St.  Patrick's  mission  in  Ireland  had  now  extended  over  a  lapne 
of  twenty-two  or  three  years,  and  what  a  wonderful  change  h&d 
he  effected,  both  in  the  people  and  in  the  state  of  the  country,  ii 
that  time  I  They  were  to  him  years  of  toil  and  dangers  and  suf 
fering,  but  chastened  by  the  blessed  fruit  he  saw  on  all  side^ 
springing  up  around  him.  The  idols  of  Baal  were  shattered  U 
iust,  and  the  cross — ^the  sign  of  man's  redemption — ^reigned  ii 
their  place.  A  fierce,  wartlike,  infidel  people  had  meekly  bowed 
to  the  Divine  teachings  of  one  man,  and  quietly  resigned  theb 
cherished  idols  and  poetic  ceremoniea  Such  a  wholesale  conver 
sion,  in  such  a  short  space  of  time,  is  unparalleled,  and  really 
miraculous. 

Having  thus  preached  the  Gospel  in  every  province  in  Ireland, 
and  having  erected  churches,  and  placed  priests  and  bishops  ovei 
them,  St.  Patrick  resolved  on  providing  a  permanent  establish 
ment  for  himself,  from  whence  he  could  superintend  the  progress 
of  the  great  work  he  had  begun.  It  was  necessary  to  establish  a 
supreme  see,  or  head,  around  which  to  center  aU  the  scattered 
members.  There  are  various  opinions  as  to  the  time  of  laying 
the  foundation  of  Armagh.  The  Four  Masters  place  it  in  the 
fear  467 ;  while  the  Annals  of  Ulster  place  it  as  early  as  444. 
The  Bollandists  place  it  in  the  year  454 ;  and  Golgan,  Ware,  and 
Lanigan  assign  it  to  the  year  456,  which  is  the  most  probable 
date. . 

Having  completed  the  great  cathedral  of  Armagh,  we  are  in 


UWm  OF  ST.  PATRICE. 


formed  by  Jooyliii;  and  other  annalists,  that  St  Patrick  visited 
Rome  for  the  second  time.  This  journey  must  have  taken  plaot 
about  the  year  467  or  468.  JocyUn  says:  **The  glorious  prelate 
Patrick)  having  converted  the  whole  island,  and  finished  th« 
urgency  of  his  laborious  preaching,  blessed  and  bade  farewell  to 
the  several  bishops  and  priests,  and  other  members  of  the  church 
whom  he  had  ordained,  and,  with  certain  of  his  disciples,  saited 
toward  Rome.  When  he  arrived  and  was  introduced  into  the 
presence  of  the  supreme  Pontiff,  he  declared  the  cause  of  his 
coming,  and  found  great  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  Pope,  who  em- 
braced him,  and  acknowledged  him  as  the  Apostle  of  Ireland, 
and  confirmed  by  the  supreme  papa)  authority  whatsoever  Patrick 
had  done,  appointed,  or  disposed  therein.  Manv  parting  presents, 
also,  ai\d  precious  gifts,  which  pertained  unto  the  beauty,  nay, 
even  to  the  strength,  of  the  Church,  did  the  Pope  bestow  on  him ; 
among  which  were  certain  relics  of  the  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul, 
and  of  Stephen  the  protomartyr,  and  of  many  other  martyrs; 
and,  moreover,  gave  he  unto  the  Saint  a  linen  doth  marked  witb 
the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  with  these  holy  1  onors 
the  Saint  having  returned  unto  Hibernia,  fortified  therewith  the 
metropolitan  chui'ch  of  Armagh,  and  deposited  them  in  a  chest 
behind  the  great  altar.  And  in  that  church,  even  firom  the  time 
of  St  Patrick,  the  custom  has  obtained,  that  on  the  days  of  Easter 
and  of  Pentecost,  these  relics  should  be  publicly  produced,  and 
venerated  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people." 

St  Patrick  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  between  Armagh  and 
his  favorite  retreat  of  Sabhul,  or  Saul,  making  occasional  excur- 
sions to  various  places  to  visit  and  strengthen  the  faithful,  and 
eonsoMating  the  church.  After  his  return  from  Rome,  he  held  a 
synod  called  "  The  Synod  of  St.  Patrick,"  which  contains  thirty- 
one  chapters.  **  The  Synod  of  Bishops,"  namely,  Patrick,  Aux> 
Jius,  and  Iseminus,  is  of  more  importance,  and  its  canons  give  us 
a  very  good  idea  of  the  condition  of  the  Irish  Church,  the  different 
grades  of  the  hierarchy  and  inferior  orders,  a^  also  of  the  social 
state  of  the  country. 

Mention  is  made  of  slavery,  of  superstitious  rites  and  pagan 
ceremonies,  which  show  that  Christianity  had  not  totally  wiped 


H 


Um  OF  6T.  PATBIOK. 


out  the  heathenish  practices  of  the  people.  There  are  canons  ii 
the  Synod  of  St  Patrick  relating  to  marriage  and  its  indissola 
bility.  But  the  most  important  one,  as  conclusive  of  the  unioc 
between  the  Church  of  Ireland  and  that  of  Rome,  is  the  follow 
ing :  "  If  any  disputes  arise  in  the  island,  let  them  be  referred  foi 
decision  to  the  apostolic  see ; "  again :  *'  If  a  difficult  cause  arise 
which  can  not  easily  be  decided  by  the  Irish  bishops  and  the  see 
of  Armagh,  it  shall  be  sent  to  the  apostolic  see — that  is,  to  the 
chair  of  the  Apostle  St.  Peter — which  hath  the  authority  of  the 
City  of  Rome." 

The  Synod  of  the  Bishops  is  supppsed  to  have  been  held  about 
the  year  456,  after  the  whole  system  of  the  Church  had  been  fully 
consolidated  by  the  establishment  of  Armagh.  By  this  time  the 
Church  was  well  provided  with  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons,  as 
also  with  abbots,  monks,  and  nuns ;  which  prove  that  a  fully  es- 
tablished Church  existed  in  Ireland.  The  synod  could  not  have 
been  much  later  than  the  above  date,  as  AusUius,  who  presided 
at  it,  died  in  460. 

As  we  are  now  approaching  the  close  of  our  Apostle^s  life  and 
labors,  it  is  but  just  that  we  should  say  a  few  words  about  St. 
Patrick^s  appearance  and  habits.  During  his  mission  in  Ireland 
he  chiefly  traveled  on  foot,  in  imitation  of  ti||^  Apostles.  He 
visited  the  king  in  his  palace  and  the  peasant  in  his  hut,  either 
to  convert  them  or,  if  converted,  to  strengthen  them  in  the  faith. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  a  remarkably  mild  di'sposition, 
but  firm  in  his  resolutions.  He  dressed  simply,  wearing  over  his 
other  garments  a  white  cowl,  which  seemed  a  fit  emblem  of  his 
own  purity.  He  received  on  his  own  account  neither  gifts  nor 
presents  from  kings  or  princes,  accounting  it  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive.  Whenever  he  received  any  present  from  the  rich, 
he  hastened  to  give  it  to  the  poor,  or  to  appropriate  it  to  the  use 
df  the  Church.  Among  his  followers  and  disciples  were  the  sons 
)f  princes  and  nobles,  many  of  whom  became  distinguished  in  the 
Church.  His  appearance  was  dignified  and  engaging,  and  such  as 
to  impress  his  beholders  with  the  great  sanctity  of  his  life.  He 
was  well  educated,  and  thoroughly  versed  in  the  British,  the 
Oallic,  the  Irish,  and  the  Latin  languages,  and  partially  under 


UWM  OV  ST.  PATBIOK. 


96 


itood  the  Greek  tongue.  He  possessed  the  gift  of  prophecy  in  a 
high  degree,  and  among  other  predictions  ho  foretold  the  birth  ol 
Bt.  Senan^  St  Brendan,  and  others.  He  was  a  man  of  wonderfoi 
humility,  and  always  spoke  of  himself  as  the  lowest  of  sinnera 
Jocylin  informs  us  that  "every  day  he  recited  two  hundred 
prayers  before  God ;  three  hundred  times  did  he  bend  his  kneefl 
in  adoration  of  the  Lord ;  every  canonical  hour  of  the  day  did  h<! 
sign  himself  one  hundred  *  times  with  the  sign  of  the  crusa 
Nevertheless,  he  never  omitted  to  offer  up  every  day  the  adorable 
sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God,  nor  did  he  ever  cease  to  teach  the  peo- 
ple and  to  instruct  his  disciples."  He  mortified  himself  by  the 
greatest  austerities.  He  slept  on  the  bare  ground ;  he  girded  his 
loins  with  rough  haircloth,  which  had  been  dipped  in  cold  water. 
He  devoted  most  of  the  night  to  prayer  and  meditation,  taking 
but  little  sleep  to  refresh  his  body.  His  diet  was  of  the  most 
meagre  kind,  consisting  chiefly  of  vegetables.  Though  living  on 
the  e^h  and  laboring  for  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-man,  he  was 
completely  separated  from  it  in  spirit.  He  always  observed  the 
Sabbath  with  singular  devotion  and  solemnity ;  he  never  traveled 
on  it,  but  spent  the  day  in  prayer  and  holy  works.  On  one 
occasion,  having  entered  the  harbor  opposite  Drumboe  on  the 
Lord's  day.  he  would  not  leave  the  ship,  but  solemnized  the  day 
on  board.  He  was  disturbed  by  the  heathens  violating  the 
Sabbath  on  shore  by  building  a  rath  or  fort.  St.  Patrick  re- 
quested them  to  stop  from  their  profane  labors,  but  they  laughed 
■^t  him,  and  he  said  to  them :  "  Though  mightily  shall  ye  labor 
unto  your  purpose,  nevei-  shall  it  come  to  any  effect,  nor  shall  ye 
ever  derive  any  profit  therefrom."  On  the  following  night  the 
sea  rose  and  swept  away  what  they  had  built. 

St.  Patrick  had  fought  the  good  fight,  and  triumphed  over  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  and  now  awaited  in  humble  con* 
fidence  the  crown  of  justice  and  glory  which  the  Lord  has  re< 
served  for  His  faithful  servants.  Little  is  known  of  the  years  that 
immediately  preceded  his  death.  He  chiefly  confined:  himself  to 
the  care  of  his  own  diocese  of  Armagh,  discharging  his  duties  as 
a  good  and  zealous  bishop.  It  is  not  stated  that  he  again  visited 
any  of  the  other  provincea    The  goo<.]  Saint  loixk'^d  back  on  hif 


.'a 


UWM  Of  0f.  FATBMK. 


tabors  and  mw  that  they  were  good.  The  rising  church  wai 
prospering  and  progressing  on  all  sides ;  and  as  he  glided  down 
the  tranquil  stream  of  life,  he  felt  that  God  had  blessed  hii 
worlUf  and  that  he  had  raised  to  the  Lord  a  Ohristian  edific« 
which  would  be  a  blessing  and  salvation  to  countless  genera 
tions. 

Before  his  death  the  Saint  was  forewarned  by  an  angel  that  he 
would  not  die  at  Armagh,  but  in  Saul,  his  favorite  retreat,  which 
he  had  built  on  land  given  him  by  his  first  convert,  Dicho. 

It  is  stated  that  St  Bridget  of  Kildare  had  a  revelation  of  the 
place  and  time  of  Si  Patrick's  death,  and  that  she  hastened  to 
make  his  shroud  with  her  own  hands,  which  she  sent  to  him,  and 
for  which  he  returned  her  his  thanks  and  his  blessing. 

The  Saint,  in  obedience  to  the  commands  of  the  angel,  returned 
to  the  monastery  of  Saul,  "  which  he  had  filled  with  a  fair  aa- 
sembly  of  monks ;  and  there,  lying  on  the  bed  of  sickness  he 
awaited,  with  a  happy  hope,  the  termination  of  his  life ;  nay, 
rather  of  his  pilgrimage,  and  his  entrance  into  life  etemaL  Now 
the  sickness  of  his  body  increasing,  age  pressmg  on,  or  rather  the 
Lord  calling  him  unto  his  crown,  the  blessed  Patrick  perceived 
he  was  hastening  unto  the  tomb ;  imd  much  he  rejoiced  to  arrive 
at  the  port  of  death,  and  the  portal  of  life.  Therefore,  being  so 
admonished  by  his  guardian  angel,  he  fortified  himself  with  the 
Divine  Mysteries,  from  the  hand  of  his  disciple,  the  Bishop  Tas- 
each,  and  lifting  up  his  eyes,  he  beheld  the  heavens  opened,  and 
Jesus  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  multitude  of  angels.  Then, 
raising  his  hands  and  blessing  his  people,  and  giving  thanks,  he 
passed  forth  from  this  world,  from  the  faith  unto  the  reality,  from 
his  pilgrimage  unto  his  country,  from  transitory  pain  unto  eternal 
glory.  Oh,  how  blessed  is  Patrick !  how  blessed  he  who  beheld 
God  face  to  face,  whose  soul  is  secured  in  salvation  I  Happy  is 
the  mac  to  whom  the  heavens  were  opened,  who  penetrated  into 
the  sanctuary,  who  found  eternal  redemption,  whom  the  Blessed 
Mary,  with  the  Apostles  and  choirs  of  virgins,  welcomed,  whom 
the  bands  of  angels  admitted  into  their  fellowship.  Him  the  wise 
assembly  of  prophets  attendeth,  the  venerable  senate  of  Apostles 
embraceth,  the  laurelled  army  of  martyrs  exalteth,  the  white 


un  OF  m.  FAmioE. 


97 


robed  oanopy  of  oonfeison  aooeptethi  and  the  innumenble  Dom 
*jer  of  elect  reoeivetb  witb  all  honor  and  all  glory.  Nor  ia  \i 
vronderful  or  undeserved — seeing  that  he  was  an  angel  of  God 
though  not  by  his  birth,  yet  by  his  virtue,  and  by  his  office ;  he 
whose  lips  were  the  guard  of  knowledge,  and  declared  unto  th« 
people  the  law  of  life  which  was  required  by  God. 

"  Rightly  is  he  called  a  Prophet  of  the  Most  High,  who  knew 
so  nuuiy  things  absent,  who  foretold  so  many  and  such  things  tt 
oome.  Rightly  is  he  called,  and  is,  the  Apostle  of  Ireland,  seeing 
that  aU  the  people  thereof,  and  the  other  islanders,  are  the  signs 
of  his  apostleship.  Rightly  is  he  called  a  Martyr,  who,  bearing 
continually  in  his  heart  and  in  his  body  the  name  of  Christ,  offered 
himself  a  living,  sacrifice  unto  God ;  who,  having  suffered  so  many 
snares,  so  many  conflicts,  from  magicians,  from  idolaters,  from 
rulers,  and  from  evil  spirits,  held  his  heart  always  prepared  to 
undergo  any  and  every  death.-  Rightly  is  he  called  the  Confea 
Bor  of  God,  who  continually  preached  the  name  of  Christ,,  and 
who,  by  his  words,  his  example,  and  his  miracles,  excited  peoples 
tribes,  and  tongues  to  the  confession  of  His  Name,  to  the  ao 
knowledgment  of  human  sin,  and  of  Divine  promise.  Rightly  ii 
he  called  a  Virgin,  who  abided  a  virgin  in  his  body,  in  his  heart, 
and  in  his  faith ;  and  by  his  three-fold  virginity  he  pleased  the 
Spouse  of  Virgins,  and  the  Tirgin  of  virgina  Rightly  is  he 
numbered  among  the  angelic  choirs,  and  the  assembly  of  all  saints, 
who  was  the  sharer  in  all  holy  acts  and  all  virtues." 

Though  it  is  admitted  by  writers  of  the  Saint's  life  that  he  died 
on  the  17th  of  March,  there  is  much  difference  of  opinion  regard- 
ing the  year.  Usher,  Colgan,  Ware,  and  the  Four  Masters  assign 
it  to  the  year  498.  The  latter  state:  "In  this  year  (493),  the 
fiftieth  year  of  LughaidVs  reign,  (1)  St.  Patrick  died. 

The  Four  Masters  inform  us  that  **  he  was  an  archbishop,  first 
primate,  and  chief  apostle  of  Ireland,  and  that  he  separated  the 
Irish  from  the  worship  of  idols  and  specters,  and  conquered  and 

(1)  Loglialdh,  son  of  Laghiiii«,uoanded  the  throne  of  Irdand  in  479,  on  Jie  death  of 
OUoU  Molt,  ion  of  Dathy,  who  mm  elain  in  the  betOe  of  Oehe,  in  Meeth.  OUoU  M<rf< 
had  enooeeded  Legheiie,  who  died  in  458 ;  seid  to  have  been  killed  by  the  element!  fot 
Hokting  en  oath  not  to  exact  tribute  firom  the  Lageniana,  or  Leinitermen.  It  la  doabt 
fid  whether  he  OTer  beoame  a  Ohriatian  or  not 


Urm  Of  BT.  PATBIOK. 


destroyed  the  idols  which  they  worshiped,  and  expelled  demoni 
and  evil  spirits  from  among  them,  and  brought  them  from  the 
iarkness  of  sin  and  vice  to  the  light  of  faith  and  good  worka 
He  baptised  and  blessed  the  men,  women,  sons,  and  daughten 
of  Ireland.  By  him  many  cells,  monasteries,  and  churches  were 
erected  throughout  Ireland — e&oen  hwidred  churches  was  their 
number.  By  him  bishops,  priests,  and  persons  of  every  dignity 
were  ordained — seven  hutidred  bialiopa  and  three  ihotieand  prie^ 
was  their  number.  He  worked  so  many  miracles  and  wonders, 
that  the  human  mind  is  incapable  of  remembering  or  recording 
the  amount  of  good  he  did  on  earth." 

The  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  which,  however,  does  not 
^ve  the  year  of  his  death,  ss/s :  "  One  indeed  of  the  Saints  and 
of  the  righteous  men,  through  whom  came  the  praise  and  magni- 
fication of  the  Lord  before  men,  through  the  wonders  and  through 
the  miracles  which  God  wrought,  resuscitating  the  dead,  cleans 
ing  lepers,  through  banishing  demons,  healing  the  blind,  the  lame, 
«nd  the  deaf,  and  every  other  disease ;  was  the  righteous,  noble 
venerable  man,  for  whom  there  is  commemoration,  namely,  Sano- 
tus  Pairmus  JEpiscopits*^^ 

Despite  such  strong  authority  in  favor  of  498  as  the  year  of  the 
SainVs  death,  modem  research,  particularly  that  of  Dr.  Lanigan, 
proves  that  he  died  at  a  much  earlier  date,  namely  in  the  year 
466.  This  agrees  with  the  statement  of  Nennius,  a  writer  of  the 
ninth  century,  who  says  that  the  death  of  St.  Patrick  took  place 
sixty  years  before  that  of  St.  Bridget.  As  St.  Bridget  died  in 
626,  this  would  give  465  as  the  year  of  St  Patrick's  death.  It 
also  coincides  with  the  time  given  by  the  "Annals  of  Innisfallen." 
Besides,  it  is  agreed  that  he  was  succeeded  by  St  Benignus,  who 
was  followed  by  St  Jarlath,  in  the  see  of  Armagh.  As  the 
former  died  in  the  year  468,  and  the  latter  in  482,  they  could  not 
have  succeeded  St.  Patrick  had  he  lived  to  493.  Tradition  assigns 
Wednesday  as  the  day  of  the  Saint's  death.  Now,  the  17th  of 
Biarch  fell  on  a  Wednesday  in  the  year  465,  which  year,  taking 
all  the  facts  and  statements  into  account,  is  probably  the  one  in 
which  he  died.  St  Patrick  was  seventy-eight  years  of  age  in  the 
year  166,  the  yeai*  of  his  death,  which  is  again  more  probable 


Ufl  Of  ^  PATUflK.  WW 

thui  tbe  Btatemeot  of  tboae  who  would  nutke  him  on«  knndftd 
•nd  twenty  yean  old  when  he  died. 

When  the  surrounding  clergy  heard  of  Si  Patrick*!  death  th«y 
all  ilooked  to  Saul  to  celebrate  his  funeral  obsequies.  **  And  the 
tniUtitude  of  the  people  and  of  the  clergy  gathered  together,  and 
mourned  with  tears  the  decease  of  Patrick,  their  patron,  and  pcf^ 
formed  in  psalms  and  hymns  the  funeral  rites.**  Each  priest  and 
bishop  offered  up  the  sacrifice  of  the  masa  Around  the  body 
torches  and  lamps  were  kept  burning  day  and  night,  so  that  the 
darkness  of  night  was  dispelled,  which  fact  gave  rise  to  the  poetio 
statement,  that  the  nights  were  as  bright  as  the  days.  An  an- 
cient chronicler  states :  "  By  the  same  power  the  continued  shin- 
ing of  twelve  days'  light  showed  the  merit  of  Patrick,  tri- 
amphant  over  this  world  and  the  prince  of  darkness. 

"  On  the  first  night  of  his  obsequies  angels  kept  watch  over 
his  body,  and  illuminating  the  place  and  all  therein  with  their 
radiance,  delighting  and  charming  with  the  modulation  of  their 
wft- flowing  psalmody,  poured  they  all  around  their  spiritual 
sweetness.  Then  came  the  sleep  of  the  Lord  on  all  who  had 
thither  collected,  and  held  them  in  their  slumbers  even  untU 
morning.  When  the  morning  came,  the  company  of  angels  re- 
ascended  ^*  to  heaven,  leavint<  behind  th<«m  a  sweet  odor  whioh 
excelled  all  perfumes^ 


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LIFE    OF    SAINT    BRIDGET. 


ti  »  •  »  n 


CHAPTER   I. 

aou  458— DiBD  8M. 
aa  FAMOCTW  Airo  kabv  ov  aanr— mm  bibth— hkb  hablt  tbam  Am  mnr^amt-' 

tBM  DBUID'a  flKDinUM  TO  HKB  AHD  TO  HKB  KOTHBI^— HBB  VATHBB,  DQ4TA0B,  OLAiMI 
HUB  VBOM  THB  DBUn>— OBUBL  TBBATXBBT  BT  BBB  BTBP-MOTHBB— BjOi  BBLATIOBI 
WAKT  HBB  TO  AST  MAKHTBD— HBB  OFFOSITIOK— HKB  BBFLT  TO  THB  KIHe  WHBH  ABKBD 
WHY  BHB  OATB  AWAT  THB  BWOBD  HB  PBBSBNTBD  TO  HBB  rATHBB^HHB  imUCTiBB 
HBB  FBOFB88IOR— 8HB  YIBITB  TABIOGS  PABTB  07  IBBLAND— B8TABUBHB8  HITMBBOOB 
OOMMUVITaW,  ABD  PBBVOBMB  HUMBBOUB  XIBA0LB8— TIBITS  MinCflTKB  AND  OONHAUeR*. 

In  the  diffusion  of  Gliristiaiiity  and  civilization  among  the  pa- 
gan nations,  the  Church  has  found  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  the 
monastic  and  religious  communitiea  Her  saints,  her  martyrs,  and 
missionaries  have  zealously  labored  from  the  dawn  of  Christiani- 
ty to  the  present  time  in  planting  the  cross  in  lands  shrouded  in 
the  darkness  of  paganism  and  infidelity,  while  her  religious  orders 
have  confirmed  the  converts  to  Catholicity,  by  instructing  them 
to  practice  the  faith  and  dedicate  themselves  to  God,  and  by 
giving  them  an  example,  in  their  exemplary  lives,  of  the  observ- 
ance of  all  pious  works  of  sanctity  and  charity,  as  well  as  how 
to  practice  penance  and  self -mortifications. 

St.  Patrick  not  only  planted  the  faith  in  Ireland,  but  he  also 
confirmed  it  by  his  miracles  and  preachings,  and  by  establishing 
monasteries  and  churches  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  land ;  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  those  great  religious  es 
tablishments  which,  in  aftex  ages,  ient  missionaries  and  saints  to 
spread  the  Gospel  throughout  Europe.  St.  Bridget  shares  with 
Si  Patrick  the  glory  and  sanctity  of  being  the  first  to  combine 

101 


103 


un  or  ST.  BBmon. 


the  pious  y«  ung  virgins  of  Ireland  into  conventual  communities 
Her  nuccess  in  this  holy  task  was  miraculous,  for  religiouE 
establishments  of  the  kind  soon  extended  over  the  land,  and 
Bridget  encouraged  them  by  her  visits,  her  teachings,  and  ex 
ample. 

We  all  know  how  great  the  influence  of  woman  is  in  softening 
and  refining  society  and  particularly  in  moulding  the  minds  of 
youth  for  good  oi  evil ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  the 
holy  and  religious  fire  infused  by  Bridget  into  the  hearts  of  the 
women  of  Erin,  powerfully  aided  the  labors  of  Si  Patrick  b 
Ghristianizing  the  inhabitants. 

St  Bridget's  parents,  Dubtach  and  Brochessa,  were  both  Chris- 
tians. By  her  father  she  was  lineally  descended  from  "  Con  of 
the  Hundred  Battles,"  and  her  mother,  Brochessa,  was  descended 
from  the  noble  house  of  the  O'Connors. 

Colgan,  Bollandus,  Ushei^^  Ware,  Harris,  and  seyeral  othei 
writers  state  that  she  was  illegitimate,  being  the  daughter  of  a 
handmaid  kept  by  her  father.  Though  Dr.  Lanigan  attempts  to 
refute  this  by  the  assertion  that  Brochessa  was  the  lawful  wife 
of  Dubtach,  we  fear  he  has  not  sufficient  grounds  to  sustain  his 
eause.  He  rests  his  arguments  chiefly  on  the  assertion  of  Cogito- 
BUS,  who  says  that  St.  Bridget  "  was  bom  of  noble  and  Christian 
parenta"  It  was  customary  in  pagan  times  in  Ireland  for  rich 
men  to  keep  a  handmaid,  like  Abraham  and  others  in  the  Jewish 
Church,  in  addition  to  their  lawful  wives,  and  though  Dubtach 
may  have  been  a  Christian,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  still  clung 
to  this  pagan  code  of  morality.  Those  holy  men  who  lived  nearer 
to  her  time  than  we,  and  who  state  that  she  was  illegitimate,  must 
have  been  better  informed  than  more  modem  writers,  and  equally 
as  anxious  to  ward  off  any  stain  from  her  honor.  We  must, 
therefore,  submit  to  the  tmth  of  their  statement. 

It  is  stated  that  the  wife  of  Dubtach,  perceiving  the  condition 
of  the  handmaid,  became  so  jealous  that  Dubtach  was  forced  to 
mU  her,  which  he  did  to  a  Druid,  on  condition  that  he  would  re 
store  to  him  the  chUd  she  was  then  bearing  in  her  womb.  He 
was  induced  to  make  this  stipulation  on  account  of  various  pre 
dioticns  regarding  her  future  greatness.    Even  some  pagan  nw 


UFB  OF  ST.  SBIDOXI. 


108 


gicians  had  foretold  that  the  child  which  Broohessa  was  bearing 
would  be  honored  and  revered. 

While  the  Druid  was  on  his  way  home  with  his  new  slave  he 
itopped  a  night  at  the  house  of  a  pious  Christian.  While  thig 
holy  man  was  praying,  he  saw  a  globe  of  fire  resting  on  the  head 
of  Brochessa.  He  informed  the  Druid  of  the  matter  next  morn 
ing,  and  bade  him  treat  her  kindly,  for  she  and  her  child  would 
bring  innumerable  blessings  upon  him.  The  Druid  traveled  on 
with  his  charge  until  he  came  to  Faugher,  a  village  near  Dundalk, 
where  the  child  was  bom,  according  to  the  best  received  accounts, 
m  the  year  453.  As  soon  as  the  mother  was  able  to  travel  they 
proceeded  toward  Gonnaught,  which  appears  to  have  been  the 
Druid's  native  country.  Here  St.  Bridget  spent  her  early  yearBy^ 
and  was  reared  by  a  nurse,  who,  fortunately  for  her,  n^as  a 
Christian.  Several  wonderfdl  things  are  related  of  her,  even  in 
her  infancy.  When  in  her  nurse's  arms  she  was  brought  to  see  a 
dead  infapt  With  childlike  curiosity  she  touched  the  body,  and 
to  the  joy  and  surprise  of  all,  the  child  was  restored  to  life.  She 
was  very  delicate,  and  was  fed  on  new  milk.  It  is  stated  that 
the  first  words  she  prattled  were;  when  looking  up  toward 
heaven,  with  childish  accents  she  murmured,  ''This  will  be 
mine." 

The  mother  and  child  were  well  treated  by  the  Druid ;  and 
though  a  pagan,  he  never  interfered  with  their  Christian  worship 
of  God.  It  is  stated  that  one  night  the  Druid  saw  three  persons, 
clad  in  white,  enter  the  room  in  which  the  child  was  sleeping, 
and  one  of  them  placed  his  hand  upon  her  head,  and  went  through 
the  ceremony  of  baptism,  and  then  turning  to  the  Druid,  he  de- 
sired him  to  call  her  Bridget.  She  grew  up  beautiful  in  appear- 
ance, but  still  more  so  by  her  heavenly  attributes,  her  meeknesa, 
humility,  and  sweetness  of  manner. 

The  mother  and  nurse  carefully  instructed  her  in  the  Christian 
religion,  and  deeply  impressed  upon  her  young  mind  the  goodnesi 
and  mercy  of  Jesus,  and  the  loving  tenderness  of  his  holy  .-  r 
Mary.  And  when  told  not  to  offend  Jesus  or  Mary,  with  child- 
like simplicity  she  would  ask  how  she  could  please  them,  and 
^ben  told,  would  reply  that  she  would  never  do  anything  tc 


104 


Uni  OF  ST.  BBIDOSI. 


<KBend  Jesus  or  Mary.  Thus  were  the  purest  impressions  made 
on  her  infant  mind,  and  as  she  grew  in  years  sho  became  full  of 
•11  the  Ohristian  virtues.  What  a  lesson  for  Christian  mothers 
and  nurses  I  If  parents  but  make  the  proper  impressions  on  the 
young  mind  they  can  never  be  thoroughly  eradicated.  If,  on  the 
Dontrary,  they  set  a  bad  example  to  their  child  and  neglect  to 
store  the  young  mind  with  Ohristian  knowledge  and  piety,  how 
much  have  they  to  answer  to  God  if  that  child  should  grow  up 
in  wickedness  and  sin. 

Bridget,  even  when  a  child,  accustomed  herself  to  prayer  and 
pious  works,  and  loved  to  retire  in  solitude  to  commune  with  her 
God.  She  was  exceedingly  modest,  and  the  least  indelicacy  of 
word  or  action  hurt  her  tender  soul.  She  was  also  remarkably 
mild,  modest,  and  obedient  to  her  mother,  like  the  Divine  Jesus, 
who  was  remarkably  obedient  to  His  earthly  parents,  thus  giving 
a  lesson  to  children  on  the  duty  and  submission  due  to  their 
parents.  She  possessed  all  the  virtues  that  adorn  a  child,  and 
was  admired  and  beloved  by  all  on  account  of  her  many  graces 
and  virtues. 

Dubtach,  who  never  lost  sight  of  the  handmaid  and  her  child, 
heard  so  much  of  the  virtue  and  excellence  of  the  latter,  that  he 
demanded  her  from  the  Druid,  in  virtue  of  their  agreement.  Her 
parting  from  her  mother  was  heart-rending ;  she  also  grieved  at 
parting  from  the  good  Druid,  whom  she  had  learned  to  love  as  a 
father.  The  only  consolation  left  her  in  this  bereavement  was 
that  she  was  accompanied  by  her  nursa  Dubtach  was  pleased 
and  flattered  by  the  accounts  he  had  received  of  his  child,  and 
received  her  very  kindly ;  but  her  step-mother  treated  her  with 
coldness  and  contempt.  She  hated  her  and  her  mother,  and  did 
everything  she  could  to  pain  and  annoy  the  child.  She  sub- 
jected her  to  iU  treatment,  and  put  her  to  do  the  most  menial 
offices  of  the  household,  and  treated  her  as  the  child  of  a 
•lave.  All  her  virtues  were  so  many  crimes  in  the  eyes  of  this 
wicked  woman.  She  even  tried  to  poison  the  mind  of  the  father 
against  his  child,  by  putting  wrong  constructions  upon  every 
thing  she  did. 

At  this  time  a  synod  was  held  in  the  plains  of  the  Liffey,  and 


iJFX  OF  ST.  BBIDOBT. 


105 


a  pioui  old  woman  obtained  permission  for  Bridget  to  aocompanj 
her  to  it  According  to  Golgan,  St.  Ibar  had  a  vision  whilf 
sleeping,  in  which  he  thought  that  he  saw  the  Blessed  Virgin  Lo 
the  midst  of  the  bishops.  On  the  following  day,  when  he  saw 
Bridget  in  church,  he  exclaimed :  "  Behold  the  Blessed  Virgin 
whom  I  saw  in  my  vision ! "  and  the  bishops  and  fathers  all  re- 
turned thanks  to  God  for  sending  her  amongst  them.  Her  fathei 
having  heard  of  the  reception  she  received  at  the  synod,  and  of 
several  miracles  she  had  peiformed,  treated  her  kindly ;  but  all 
this  only  the  more  embittered  her  step-mother. 

Bridget  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  see  her  mother,  and  to  her 
great  joy  obtained  permission  from  her  father  to  visit  her.  Their 
meeting  was  most  affectionate,  for  the  cruelty  of  her  step-mother 
made  her  yearn  the  more  for  the  sweet,  absorbing  love  of  her 
mother.  While  with  her  mother  she  took  charge  of  the  Druid's 
dairy,  and  her  tender  heart  could  not  resist  the  appeals  of  the 
poor  that  craved  charity  from  her,  so  she  gave  them  all  the 
produce.  But  when  the  Druid  demanded  a  return  of  the  pro- 
ceeds, she  became  frightened,  the  more  so  as  her  mother  was  ac- 
countable to  him  fcr  any  indiscretions  on  her  part.  She  retired 
to  some  lonely  place,  and  throwing  herself  before  God,  implored 
Him  fervently  to  aid  her.  Her  prayers  were*  heard ;  she  found 
that  what  she  had  given  to  the  poor  did  not  lessen  the  property 
of  the  Druid.  -  A    ;.:^- 

The  time  passed  most  agreeably  with  her  mother  and  the 
Dmid,  the  latter  having  become  more  and  more  attached  to  her. 
He  even  conversed  with  her  about  the  Christian  religion,  and  her 
pure,  innocent  life  and  edifying  conversation  made  a  great  impres 
sion  upon  him,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  grace  of  God  was 
working  a  change  in  his  souL  When  the  time  for  her  return 
came,  she  felt  sad  at  the  recollection  of  the  loving  hearts  she  was 
leaving  behind,  and  the  cruel  reception  she  was  sure  to  meet  at 
home.  The  good  Druid  pitied  her,  and  seeing  how  deeply  she 
grieved  after  her  mother,  he  was  moved  with  compassion,  and 
told  her  that  hei  mother  was  free  and  could  accompany  her. 
The  mother  and  child's  gratitude  to  him  knew  no  bounds,  and 
ttiey  blessed  him  and  prayed  for  him  and  wept  with  joy.    Ht 


■'^ 


106 


im  ov  BT.  BBmosr. 


even  loaded  them  with  yaloable  presents  on  their  departore,  and 
bade  their  an  affectionate  farewell  Soon  afterward  he  became 
a  Ohristian,  and  died  a  pious  GathoHa 

On  hear  journey  home,  Bridget  distributed  to  the  poor  whom 
the  met,  all  the  Druid's  presents.  On  her  return  she  was  treated 
in  the  usual  harsh  manner  by  her  step-mother.  We  are  not  told 
what  became  of  her  mother ;  most  likely  she  stayed  at  some  place 
near  her  daughter. 

Bridget's  charity  drew  down  upon  her  the  anger  of  her  step- 
mother, and  she  so  teased  her  father  with  her  complaints  that  he 
resolved  to  sell  her  to  the  King  of  Leinster,  but  while  trading 
about  her,  she  gave  her  father's  sword,  which  he  had  received 
as  a  present  from  the  king,  to  some  poor  person,  which  very  much 
excited  his  anger.    Gambrensis  gives  the  following  version  of  this 
incident,  which  he  states  occurred  when  she  was  only  nine  years 
old:  ''The  King  of  Leinster  had  given  her  fathei*,  Dubtach,  as  a 
token  of  his  good-will  and  liking  for  his  valiant  service,  a  rich 
•word  garnished  with  costly  Jewels.    The  child  visited  the  sick 
neighbors,  and  not  having  anything  else  to  relieve  the  wants  of 
the  poor  and  needy,  she  gave  them  the  jewels  out  of  the  old 
■word.    This  being  brought  to  the  king's  ears  he  was  angry,  and 
shortly  afterward  came  to  a  banquet  in  her  father's  house,  and 
calling  the  little  maid  to  him,  he  asked  her  how  she  dared  to  de- 
face the  gift  of  a  king  in  such  a  manner  as  she  had  done  to  his 
gift  to  her  father.    She  fearlessly  replied  that  she  had  bestowed 
the  jewels  upon  a  better  King  than  he  was,  whom,  she  continued, 
*  finding  in  such  extremities  I  would  have  given  all  that  my  father 
hath,  and  all  that  you  have,  yea,  yourself,  too,  and  all  you  have, 
were  it  in  my  power  to  give  them,  rather  than  Ghrist  or  His 
children,  the  poor,  should  starve.' "    Thus  we  see  how  deeply 
impressed  her  heart  was,  at  that  tender  age,  with  that  true  charity 
that  giveth  all  to  the  poor  rather  than  that  they  should  want  The 
king  was  so  struck  with  her  answer  that  he  said  to  her  fathei 
that  his  whole  possessions  would  not  be  an  equivalent  for  hii 
daughter;  and  that  he  should  let  her  have  her  own  way  in 
ftiture,  and  not  restrain  the  extraordinary  graces  God  had  con 
ferred  on  her.    He  then  gave  Dubtach  another  sword  more  vain 


Lira  or  ST.  BBIDOXT 


lOf 


ftbie  than  the  former,  as  a  mark  of  the  esteein  he  entertained  foi 
him  and  his  daughter. 

About  this  time,  according  to  Jocylin,  Bridget  assisted  at  an 
instruction  given  by  St.  Patrick.  During  the  discourse  she  feU 
asleep  and  had  a  vision.  When  she  awoke,  Patrick,  who  knew 
she  had  the  vision,  and  knew  also  that  God  often  manifested  Hii 
will  through  the  mouths  of  innocent  children,  asked  her  what  she 
had  heard  or  seen  in  her  vision.  She  obeying,  replied :  **  I  beheld 
an  assembly  of  persons  clothed  in  white  raiment ;  and  I  beheld 
ploughs  and  oxen,  and  standing  com,  all  white,  and  immediately 
they  became  all  spotted,  and  afterwards  they  became  all  black ; 
and  in  the  end,  I  beheld  sheep  and  swine,  dogs  and  wolves,  all 
fighting  and  contending  together."  St.  Patrick  expounded  the 
vision,  and  said  that  the  whiteness  pertained  to  the  Church  of  Ire* 
land,  as  it  then  was ;  for  all  the  prelates  and  servants  of  the 
Ghurch  were  then  pure  and  faithful,  and  diligent  in  faith  and 
good  works,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel.  The  things 
which  were  spotted  belonged  to  the  succeeding  generation,  which 
would  be  pure  in  faith,  but  stained  by  evil  works.  The  black- 
ness meant  the  time  of  the  following  generations,  when  the  world 
would  be  profaned  by  evil  works  and  the  renouncement  of  the 
Christian  faith.  The  contest  of  the  sheep  and  the  swine,  of  the 
dogs  and  the  wolves,  he  declared  to  be  the  contest  of  the  pure 
and  unpure  prelates,  and  of  good  and  bad  men,  which  in  the 
lapse  of  time  would  come  to  pass.  The  Saint's  interpretation  of 
Bridget's  vision  has  been  too  well  verified  by  indisputable  facts 
to  require  any  comment.  .  ^. 

Bridget's  step-mother  was  always  devising  schemes  to  ruin  her 
in  hei  father's  estimation ;  all  others  having  failed,  as  soon  as  she 
approached  maturity,  she  urged  on  him  to  get  her  married.  She  wos 
remarkably  beautiful,  and  could  get  most  desirable  matches  ac- 
cording to  the  world.  Her  father  broached  the  matter  to  hej 
and  wished  her  to  wed  a  certain  young  man.  Bridget  wai 
astonished  at  such  a  proposal,  and  firmly  refused,  and  told  hei 
father  that  she  was  resolved  to  consecrate  her  virginity  to  God. 
It  is  stated  that  her  step-brother  carried  his  anger  at  her  refusal 
90  far  as  to  attem'Jt  to  strike  her,  but  God  showed  His  wrath  foi 


''<<i 


108 


UWM  Of  8T.  BSIDOJVr. 


thus  presumiug  to  iigure  His  servant  bj  paralyzing  his  arm.  Thii 
and  other  divine  manifestations,  combined  with  her  own  firmness^ 
at  length  oveicame  their  opposition,  and  they  allowed  her  to 
shooee  her  state  m  life.  A  new  life  now  seemed  infused  into  hei 
loul  and  she  almost  wept  in  the  plenitude  of  her  thanksgiving 
to  God,  and  renewed  her  promises  of  love  and  reverence  to  llim. 
3he  made  known  her  intentions  to  several  pious  virgins,  all  of 
whom  resolved  to  accompany  her.  All  matters  being  finally  ar 
ranged,  she  and  her  companions  directed  their  steps  to  the  holy 
Bishop  MaccaUe,  who,  it  is  said^  was  then  at  Ussna  Hill,  in  the 
County  Westmeath,  and  accordiL^  to  some  writers  they  made 
their  vows  before  him,  and  received  the  white  veil  from  his  hands 
on  the  following  day.  He  placed  the  wLite  veil  on  her  head, 
and  gave  her  a  white  mantle  or  habit ;  fit  emblems  of  the  purity 
of  her  bright,  unspotted  soul.  He  told  her  that  the  whiteness  of 
her  dress  would  always  remind  her  of  her  profession,  and  of  her 
fervor  and  devotion  on  the  happy  day  she  received  the  veil. 

When  making  her  vows,  Bridget  touched  one  of  the  steps  of 
the  altar,  which  immediately  became  fresh  and  green,  and  pre- 
served this  freshness  ever  afterward.  On  one  occasion  when  the 
church  was  consumed  to  ashes,  this  step  remained  uninjured. 
Cogitosus  relates  that  it  was  visible  in  his  own  time.  It  is  said 
that  she  was  professed  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  her  age,  and  that  the 
ceremony  took  place  about  the  year  469.  Some  accounts  state 
that  seven — others  sixteen — ^young  virgins  took  the  d  with  her 
at  the  same  time.  There  is  a  curious  account  given  of  the  cere- 
mony of  St.  Bridget  taking  the  veil  fn  the  "Martyrology  of 
Aengus."  It  also  states  that  she  received  the  veil,  not  from 
Bishop  Maccaile,  but  from  Bishop  MelL  The  most  reliable 
writers  think  that  the  veil  was  given  her  by  Maccaile ;  however, 
we  give  the  other  version  of  t^e  ceremony.  The  writer  says 
'*  S  ow  Bridgid  was  desirous  of  receiving  the  degrees  of  repent 
ULoe  (taking  the  veil).  She  repaired  to  Brigh-£le,  (1)  accom 
panied  by  seven  nuns,  having  heard  that  Bishop  Mell  was  there 

(1)  Brigh-Ele,  a  well  known  UU  on  the  frontien  of  OflUy,  now  eidled  Brogh«n-fflU. 
(t  contnini  slight  tracei  of  the  roinB  of  the  church  of  St.  Maccaile.  Oolgui,  nor  «T<i 
Laaigan,  big  not  giyen  the  firoper  location  of  thia  hilL 


uwm  '^w  m.  BBiDosr. 


109 


^d  when  they  arrived  there  they  found  that  the  biahop  waa  n<A 
at  home,  but  had  gone  into  the  Country  of  the  Hy-Nial  She 
let  out,  therefore,  on  the  following  morning,  guided  by  MasoaUe^ 
ofer  Monoid  Fatneadh.  (1)  Bridgid  caused  the  bog  to  become  a 
Ane  grassy  plain  for  them.  When  they  came  near  the  place 
where  Bishop  Mell  was,  Bridgid  said  to  Maccaile  that  he  should 
place  a  veil  upon  her  head,  so  that  she  would  not  appear  without 
a  veil  in  the  presence  of  the  bishop.  When  she  had  arrived  there 
a  column  of  fire  ascended  from  her  head  to  the  roof  of  the  church. 
When  Bishop  Mell  saw  that,  he  inquired  who  she  wa&  Maccaile 
said:  'This  is  the  illustrious  nun  of  the  Lagenians,  Bridgid.' 
'She  is  welcome,* "said  Bishop  MelL  'It  was  I  prophesied  of 
her  while  in  her  mother's  womb,  and  it  is  I  that  shall  confer  de- 
grees upon  her.'  This  had  reference  to  an  occasion  on  which 
Bishop  Mell  stopped  at  the  house  of  Dubtach.  The  Bishop  saw 
Dubtach's  wife  in  grief  and  asked  the  woman  what  ailed  her. 
'  I  have  cause  for  grief,'  she  replied, '  because  Dubtach  regards 
more  the  bondmaid  that  performs  ablutions  for  you,  than  he  does 
me.'  'Marvel  not  at  that,'  said  Bishop  Mell;  'for  thy  seed 
shall  serve  the  seed  of  the  bondmaid' — meaning  Bridget. 
'  What  did  the  nuns  come  for  ? '  said  Bishop  Mell  '  To  have 
degrees  of  repentance  conferred  upon  Bridgid,'  said  Maccaila 
Then  the  de^ees  were  conf  en'ed  upon  Bridgid,  and  it  was  the 
degrees  of  a  biahop  that  Bishop  Mell  conferred  upon  her.  Then 
Maccaile  placed  a  veil  upon  the  head  of  Bridgid,  so  that  from 
that  time  the  successor  of  Bridgid  was  entitled  to  have  the  de- 
gree of  bishop  conferred  upon  her.  While  the  degree  was  being 
conferred  Bridgid  was  holding  the  leg  of  the  altar  in  her  hand, 
and  though  there  were  seven  churches  burned  with  that  leg  in 
khem,  it  escaped  untouched."  St  Ultan,  in  the  work  ascribed  to 
him,  gives  a  similar  account  of  the  transaction,  and  distinctly 
states  that  it  was  from  St  Mell  she  received  the  veiL  Bridget's 
heart  was  now  full  of  joy ;  she  had  become  a  nun,  and  was 
marked  as  the  chosen  servant  of  the  Mo^t  High.    Her  compan 


4 


>i 


(1)  Monoid  FatMotik— The  bog  of  FatMaoh  wac  most  likely,  the  place  now  ealleo 
ttie  pais  of  Rilbiidgflii  in  the  barony  of  Fartollagh,  m  the  north-eaet  put  of  the  Coont) 


no 


UMM  01  ar.  BUDttsr. 


ions  looked  npon  her  m  being  specially  oLosen  by  God  to  roll 
oyer  them,  and  to  be  their  guide  and  direotresB.  In  these  primi- 
tive ages  of  the  Ohristian  Church,  consecrated  virgins  lived  witb 
their  friends  and  performed  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  household 
Boon  afterward  they  lived  in  communities  under  certain  rules, 
without  being  bound  to  the  precincts  of  a  convent.  By  degrees 
the  strict  inclosure  was  introduced  into  monastic  or  conventual 
life. 

Bridget^s  first  community  was  established  at  Bridgets-Town,  or 
Ballyboy,  near  Ussna  Hill,  under  the  care  of  St.  Maccaile. 
Though  very  young  at  the  time,  uhe  was  entrusted  with  the  man- 
agement of  this  house,  and  al!  submitted  to  Ser  cheerfully  and 
obediently.  She  was  prudent,  and  of  a  most  sweet  and  engaging 
manner.  She  reproved  with  mildness,  but  firmness,  and  gov- 
erned by  love  and  respect,  without  any  display  of  authority  or 
superiority.  It  is  said  that  on  some  occasions  when  the  nuns  ran 
short  of  provisions  tuo  prayers  of  St  Bridget  procured  them  sup- 
pliesi  She  was  extremely  charitable,  and  no  poor  person  left 
without  alms,  and  no  weary  traveler  ever  went  away  without  be 
ing  refreshed.  This  community  soon  became  so  celebrated  for 
their  piety,  charity,  and  good  works,  that  several  virgins  sought 
admission  into  it.  The  poor  flocked  around  them,  and  even  the 
4ick  came  from  afar  to  be  cured  by  St.  Bridget's  prayers.    • 

She  possessed  great  power  over  evil  spirits.  On  one  occasion 
A  person  possessed  by  the  devil  was  brought  to  her.  On  the  way 
he  cried  out  that  he  would  not  go,  for  they  were  bringing  him  to 
St.  Bridget,  and  cast  himself  on  the  ground.  His  friends  begged 
St  Bridget  to  come  and  free  the  poor  man  from  the  devil,  as  they 
could  not  bring  him  to  her.  When  she  arrived  the  devil  fled  and 
the  man  was  cured.  Her  charity  was  so  great  that  she  often  left 
the  community  in  want,  but  God  always  came  to  their  assistance. 
St  Maccaile  frequently  visited  the  convent,  and  on  one  occasion, 
having  expounded  the  eight  beatitudes,  Bridget  said  to  the  nuns: 
"  Let  each  of  us  select  some  beatitude,  and  let  her  make  it  a  spe 
oial  virtue  of  her  life."  Bridget  selected  mercy,  and  justly  too 
for  she  was  the  very  essence  itself  of  mercy. 

She  was  visited  by  many  holy  persons,  both  lay  and  clerical, 


Lira  or  0T.  BBIDOir 


111 


'  ■■'*■ 


and  WM  always  anxious  to  engage  them  in  conversation  oi 
heavenly  thinga  She  freely  mixed  with  the  poor,  and  instracted 
■noh  as  were  Ohristians  in  their  religious  duties,  and  such  as  were 
pagans  she  soon  gained  over  to  Christ  by  her  charity  and  kind 
ness.  She  took  particular  interest  in  little  children,  treating  them 
with  such  love  and  kindness  that  they  loved  to  follow  her  and  to 
be  with  her.  Thus  do  such  pure  spirits  live  and  lay  up  treasures 
for  heaven.  Though  on  the  earth,  they  are  not  of  the  earth,  but 
of  God,  for  whom  they  labor  and  win  soula 

The  fame  of  St  Bridget  and  her  convent  soon  spread  far  and 
wide,  and  several  bishops  requested  her  to  visit  them  in  theii 
dioceses  and  to  establish  communities  among  them.  She  paid  a 
visit  to  St  Mell  at  Ardagh,  and  as  he  was  a  holy  and  learned 
man,  she  consulted  him  on  many  questions  regarding  spiritual 
life.  It  is  related  that  while  there  the  prince  of  Longford  gave 
a  great  banquet  One  of  the  servants  let  fall  a  very  valuable 
vase  and  shattered  it  to  pieces.  The  prince  was  so  enraged  that 
he  ordered  the  man  to  be  cast  into  prison  and  executed.  St 
Mell  used  his  influence  for  the  poor  man,  but  without  effect 
Then,  remembering  the  miraculous  powers  of  St.  Bridget,  he  or- 
dered the  fragments  of  the  vase  to  be  brought  to  her.  Bridget 
prayed  to  the  Lord  beseeching  Him  to  exhibit  His  power,  to  con- 
found His  pagan  enemies,  and  to  save  a  poor  man  from  unjust 
sentence.  Her  prayer  was  heard.  The  vase  was  restored  to  the 
king  entire,  and  the  offender  was  pardoned,  and  many  conversions 
followed.  She  visited  Bridget  of  Kilbride,  who  was  then  in 
Ardagh.  When  sitting  down  to  their  dinner  St  Bridget  said : 
''I  see  the  devil  sitting  at  the  table."  The  other  looked,  but 
could  not  see  him ;  then  St.  Bridget  made  the  sign  of  the  cross 
on  her  eyes  and  she  saw  him.  St.  Bridget  then  asked  him  why 
he  was  there,  and  he  replied :  ''  I  always  remain  near  this  womar 
on  account  of  her  sloth."  She  then  commanded  him  to  depart 
and  the  woman  was  cui^d  of  her  slothfulness  and  led  a  most  hoi; 
life.  On  Holy  Thursday,  she  was  at  her  devotions  in  the  church 
of  Ardagh,  when  she  heard  .some  women,  who  were  attached  to 
the  church,  disputing  about  washing  the  feet  of  the  sick  on  that 
festival.    St  Bridget  at  once  performed  the  ablutions,  and  the 


"■? 


■'•-51 


t  i 


~i 


Ill 


un  Of  n,  BBiDoiff 


'Lord,  M  A  token  of  Hii  love  for  her,  restored  to  ho«lth  one  of  ihi 
patienta  whoie  feet  ihe  had  washed. 

She  was  staying  with  a  pious  family  who  happened  to  have  a 
leaf  and  dumb  child.  All  the  other  members  of  the  famUy 
ehanoed  to  be  absent  when  a  poor  person  oame  to  ask  for  alms. 
Bridget  turned  to  the  mute  child  to  ask  where  the  provisioni 
were  kept  The  child  at  once  answered  and  pointed  out  the 
place.  When  the  family  returned  they  were  oyerjoyed  to  find  the 
deaf  and  dumb  child  able  to  hear  and  speak  perfectly.  While 
trayeling  one  yery  hot  day  in  summer,  she  met  a  poor  man  and  his 
wife  carrying  yery  heavy  burdena  Pitying  them,  she  gave  them 
the  horse  she  had  carrying  her,  and  sat  down  by  the  wayside  with 
her  companions.  They  felt  very  thirsty,  but  could  find  no  water. 
She  told  them  to  dig  a  little  and  that  they  would  find  water ; 
and  they  did  so,  and  found  a  beautiful  well.  A  neighboring  chief, 
who  was  passing  by  with  several  men  and  horses,  having  heard 
from  the  poor  man  the  charitable  act  of  Si  Bridget,  presented 
her  with  two  horses.  Soon  afterward  some  of  St.  Patrick^s  di» 
eiples  came  up,  and  as  they  were  fatigued  and  thirsty  they  were 
very  much  refreshed  by  the  water  which  St  Bridget  had  pro- 
cured for  them.  *  ' 

After  visiting  St.  Mell  she  seems  to  have  spent  some  time  in 
the  eastern  parts  of  Ulster,  but  the  accounts  left  by  her  biogra- 
phers are  so  disjointed,  that  it  is  impossible  to  trace  her  move- 
ments with  any  regularity.  In  company  with  Ere,  Bishop  of 
Slane,  she  visited  Munster  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  new 
convents ;  she  was  received  in  every  place  with  the  greatest  re- 
spect, and  though  she  established  several  new  communities,  the 
names  of  but  a  few  of  them  have  been  handed  down  to  us.  On 
one  occasion*  while  traveling  with  Bishop  Ere,  she  stopped  and 
ezdaimed :  "  There  is  a  battle  now  being  fought  in  the  South,  and 
your  friends  are  put  to  flight.''  The  bishop  was  anxious  to  see 
the  battle,  and  Bridget  having  made  tht^  sign  of  the  cross  upon 
his  eyes,  he  plainly  saw  it,  and  exclaimed,  "  Two  of  my  brothers 
are  slain  I "  which  turned  out  to  be  a  fact  She  was  joyfully  re- 
ceived by  the  bishops  and  priests  of  Munster,  and  worked 
lealouBly  in  establishing  the  conventual  system  there.    It  is  re^ 


uwM  Of  ir.  BBioaif  . 


lU 


Uted  that  she  attended  a  synod  held  at  Magh-Femyn,  a  ooontrj 
lying  between  Oathel  and  Olonmel,  and  that  one  of  the  buhopi 
there  pronoonoed  an  elegant  eulogium  upon  her  virtuei  and 
MUietity.  While  there,  an  infectioug  pestilence  prevailed  among 
the  nativefl,  and  had  carried  off  large  numbers.  The  people  ool 
lected  around  Bt  Bridget,  requesting  her  to  visit  their  sick  friends, 
and  to  pray  for  them.  It  is  related  that  she  cured  numb  rs  of 
sick,  and  that  through  her  prayers  the  pestilence  abate<^  f  i^'^") 
afterward  disappeared  altogether. 

While  in  Munster  she  spent  some  time  with  tun  7;  '  at. 
Ailbe,  at  Emly,  and  while  there  cured  a  blind  d 
been  so  for  years.  She  next  passod  into  the  Ooi  .  /  att^rtbrd, 
and  spent  some  time  near  the  sea-shore  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
prehent  village  of  Tramore,  where  she  is  said  to  have  established 
a  community  of  nuns.  We  next  find  her  in  the  Gounty  Limerick, 
establishing  communities  and  instructing  and  edifying  the  people. 
While  there,  a  female  slave  fled  to  her  for  protection ;  her  mistress 
claimed  her  as  her  property  by  the  right  of  purchase,  and  though 
Bridget  pleaded  earnestly  for  her  liberation,  the  woman  insisted 
upon  recovering  her  property,  and  seized  the  slave  to  drag  her 
away.  The  unfortunate  girl  clung  to  the  Saint  for  protection, 
but  the  other  dragged  her  violently  from  her.  It  was  the  will  of 
the  Lord  to  show  His  favor  for  His  servant,  for  the  hand  with 
which  the  woman  dragged  off  the  slave  became  paralyzed.  She 
was  80  frightened  that  she  released  the  slave,  and  through  the 
prayers  of  Bridget,  recovered  the  use  of  her  hand. 

Society  in  Ireland  in  pagan  times  was  divided  into  freemen 
and  slaves ;  the  former  regarding  the  latter  as  beings  of  an  in- 
ferior order,  and  treated  them  as  mere  chattels,  as  is  the  case  in 
all  slave  countries  even  in  our  own  time.  The  Catholic  Church 
labored  from  the  beginning  to  abolish  this  barbarous  custom,  and 
finally  succeeded.  We  find  this  custom  prevalent  at  the  time 
throughout  Europe.  The  Romans  sold  English  slaves  in  the 
EU>man  market.  The  Picts  sold  the  Britons  whom  they  captuied 
m  war.  The  Britons,  whenever  they  made  successful  invasions 
Into  Scotland,  or  on  the  coasts  of  Ireland,  sold  their  victims  into 
ilavery;  while  the  Irish,  in  retaliation,  swept  down  upon  thf 


N 


:.i 


i 


lU 


Ura  OV  BT.  BBIDOSr. 


t  V  ■ 


ii-'v 


n 


ooMtB  of  Britain  and  Gaul,  carrying  off  their  viotims  into  bondagoi 
Gluistianity  soon  did  away  with  this  savage  custom,  and  leveled 
the  barriers  between  man  and  master.  It  recognized  no  distinC' 
tion  of  persons,  and  soon  the  faith  and  piety  of  its  foUowers  pre- 
vaUed,  and  by  mutual  consent,  slavery  was  abolished.  Thus  we 
find  a  few  single  men  effecting  in  a  short  time,  by  the  teachings 
of  Christianity,  what  philanthropists  and  statesmen  have  failed  to 
accomplish  in  the  present  more  enlightened  ages. 

St.  Bridget  labored  hard  to  obtain  the  freedom  of  poor  culprits 
or  at  least  to  mitigate  the  bitterness  of  their  captivity.  Her  nu- 
merous miracles  and  the  respect  and  veneration  entertained  for 
her  gave  power  to  her  influence,  which  seldom  failed  in  gaining 
the  boon  of  mercy.  We  read  that  a  certain  person  was  detained 
captive  by  a  king,  and  his  friends  besought  Bridget's  influence  in 
his  behall  She  went  to  the  king,  but  not  finding  him  in,  she 
was  speaking  to  some  of  his  friends  for  the  culprit,  and  seeing 
harps  standing  by,  she  asked  them  to  play.  They  replied  that 
they  could  not.  She  told  them  to  try,  so  they  did,  and  to  their 
surprise  played  the  most  ravishing  music  The  king  retumeJ  m 
the  meantime,  and  was  so  struck  by  the  music  and  the  miracle, 
that  he  at  once  liberated  the  captive.  Though  we  are  informed 
that  she  established  several  communities  in  the  County  Limerick ; 
the  names  of  them,  unfortunately,  are  not  given ;  particular  men- 
Hon,  though,  is  made  of  a  house  she  ettablished  in  the  plains  of 
Gleach  (£lyV  near  Limerick 


.i»,  ■ 


fveoMraoif : 

■■B  VATHIH 
FlOFUIOll'L] 
WBBl 

SBBATI 
HBR  OHARITT 
OBATH  OF  ST. 
TBANSIATBD 


BBTTUn 

LTFiSB 


LucsSt 
ing  through 
converting  a 
companied  I 
always  left  i 
finally,  havii 
lished  a  pen 
life  as  head 
which  she  h 
and  piety  he 
daughters  of 
ligious  zeal, 
worthy  to  es 

St.  Bridge 
in  South  Lei 
lagh,  which 
and  the  Que 
lished  severe 
by  her  early 
and  presents 
the  poor,  foi 
necessary  wfi 


;j 


it 


CHAPTER  li. 


V9  aow  vaou  umsbiok  to  lbik«t»»— hhb  boi-oitudb  fob  hbb  vibitobb— cut  ynm 

OBB  FATHIB— AN  ANCIBL  WARim  HBB  OF  DAHQBB— AOAIS   TI8ITB   OOHlTAUeHT— TBI 

noruB  09  uasvsA  bkkd  a  dbpotation  to  bbquist  hbr  to  bbttlb  amovo  thbm— 
•HI avrruB  atkildabk— builim  a  oohtsht— a  town  spbibob  xtf  abound  it— hu 

OBBAT  FjSb  and  ICANT  KIBAOLBS— YISITBD  BT  BBTBBAIi  BMINBNT  AND  HOLT  MBN— 
HBB  OHARITT  AND  YIBTCBB— FOBBTBU<8  HBB  DBATH— DEATH  OF  BISHOP  CONLABTH— 
OBATH  OF  BT.  BBIDOBT— HHB  BBUOS— THBIB  HISTOBT— BHH  IB  BUBIBD  4T  TJtDAK^— 
TBANBIiATBD  TO  DOWN— 8KBT0H  OF  BH.DABa 

Lkb  St.  Patrick^  St.  Bridget  spent  much  of  her  time  in  travel 
ing  through  the  country,  establishing  communities  of  nuus,  and 
converting  and  instructing  the*  people ;  like  him,  also,  she  was  ao 
companied  by  several  companions  or  disciples,  one  of  whom  she 
always  left  to  preside  over  her  newly-established  community,  and 
finally,  having  fulfilled  her  mission,  like  St.  Patrick,  she  estr^ . 
lished  a  permanent  house,  where  she  spent  the  remainder  of  n 
life  as  head  of  the  great  and  numerous  order  of  Bridgetine  nuns, 
which  she  had  established.  The  fame  of  her  miracles,  her  virtues 
and  piety  had  spread  over  the  land,  and  young  virgins — even  the 
daughters  of  kmgs  and  princes — were  inspired  with  similar  re- 
ligious zeal,  and  desired  to  follow  in  her  footsteps,  and  to  become 
worthy  to  establish  religious  communities. 

St  Bridget  went  from  Limerick  to  the  county  of  the  Labrathi, 
m  South  Leinster,  which  Golgan  says  was  the  same  as  Hy-Kinsel* 
lagh,  which  embraced  Wexford,  Garlow,  and  parts  of  Kilkenny 
and  the  Queen^s  County.  Here  she  spent  some  time  and  estab- 
lished several  communities  of  nuns,  which  are  not  particularized 
by  her  early  biographers.  While  theire  she  received  largei  gifts 
and  presents  of  all  kinds  from  the  rich,  which  she  divided  among 
the  poor,  for  she  never  retained  bnt  what  barely  supplied  the 
necessary  wants  of  herself  and  het  followers     On  one  occasion 

11» 


tammmmMMMiHiili 


llf 


Ura  OF  BT.  HBIDOMT. 


some  persons,  who  were  bringing  her  presents,  lost  their  way  in 
the  woods,  and  Bridget,  without  having  any  intimation  of  their 
coming,  told  the  sisters  to  prepare  for  some  guests,  and  to  display 
a  light,  as  they  had  lost  their  way.  The  travelers  saw  the  light 
and  guided  by  it,  reached  the  convent,  where  they  were  hospitably 
entertained ;  and  on  their  return  found  that  they  had  miraculously 
escaped  numerous  pits  in  the  woods  while  straying  about  While 
here  she  visited  her  parents,  who  resided  near  Eildare,  and  whom 
she  had  not  seen  in  a  long  time.  Her  father  Dubtach,  was  de 
lighted  to  see  her,  and  received  his  saintly  daughter  with  great 
affection  and  respeci  As  to  her  step-mother,  or  even  her  mother, 
no  mention  is  made  of  them,  further  than  it  is  said  in  the  third 
Life,  *'Sh3  went  to  visit  her  parents,"  thus  implying  ilMt  she  also 
visited  her  mother,  who,  most  likely,  did  not  reside  with  her 
fjEUiher.     "-:>- \' '-^:  ■•'^■^. -■■■l^' ■^^.:::;/^V-'::,^^-:'''^ 

After  remaining  some  time  with  her  father,  she  visited  Con- 
naught,  and  spent  much  of  her  time  in  Boscomuion.  Here,  most 
probably,  she  spent  her  early  days  with  the  Druid,  and  now  en- 
joyed her  early  recollections,  and  brought  many  of  her  early  play 
mates  within  her  fold.  She  erected  several  convents  and  established 
several  communities  of  nuns  in  Gonnaught,  particularly  in  Bos- 
common.  The  fame  and  sanctity  of  St.  Bridget  was  now  second 
to  that  oidy  of  St.  Patrick  himsell  He  had  sown  the  good  seed 
broadcast  over  the  land  until  it  budded  and  blossomed  into  a 
most  bounteous  harvest;  she  followed  as  the  glfmer  of  souls  to 

Christ  '■'  ■^■'^    -■.;-•.     y      ■■■       ^/.:-•.;"^:.-^..^r■^^■^'^^  "'^^ 

While  thus  engaged,  th«  people  of  Leinster  began  to  feel  un- 
easy that  such  a  precious  treasure  should  be  partly  lost  to  them 
They  complained  that  she  founded  convents,  established  roligions 
communities  through  all  parts  of  Ireland,  and  blessed  the  inhabi- 
tants with  her  virtues  and  charities,  while  she  gave  little  atteu 
tion  to  her  native  province  of  Leinster.  A  meeting  was  held 
and  a  deputation  of  respectable  men  was  invited  to  go  into  Con 
naught  and  invite  Bridget  back  to  her  native  place,  where  they 
resolved  to  aid  hex'  in  establishing  a  convent  The  deputation 
having  waited  on  her,  she  consented  to  return  with  them.  Hav 
Jig  made  due  preparations,  and  having  confided  the  house  over 


UFX  OV  ST.  BBmOBI. 


117 


V 


vhich  she  then  presided  to  the  care  of  a  jproper  superioress^  she 
set  out  with  her  friends.  They  journeyed  on  until  they  reached 
Athlone,  where  the  lordly  Shannon  interrupted  their  progress 
There  chanced  to  be  no  boats  on  the  river  at  the  time^  There 
were  several  pagans  on  the  banks  who  sneered  at  the  nuns,  and 
desired  Bridget  to  perform  a  miracle  now  by  walking  over.  It 
is  said  that  some  of  the  nuns,  who  had  full  confidence  in  the 
miraculous  power  of  Bridget,  called  on  God  and  Bridget  to  pro 
tect  them,  and  advanced  into  the  river  and  passed  over  it  in 
safety,  to  the  greivt  discomfiture  of  the  pagans.  The  priests  and 
laymen  who  were  with  Bridget  at  length  procured  a  boat,  in 
which  the  remainder  of  the  party  embarked ;  but  having  pro- 
ceeded some  distance  into  the  stream  the  boat  was  upset,  but 
through  the  prayers  of  St.  Bridget,  not  one  of  the  party  was  lost 
They  then  continued  their  journey  in  safety  until  they  reached 
Kildare.  *       -; 

Bridget's  tour  through  Ireland  occupied  about  seventeen  yeara 
In  that  time  she  had  established  innumerable  convents  and  relig- 
ious communities ;  she  had  taught  these  young  aspirants  of  the 
cross,  the  virgins  of  Erin,  how  to  lead  religious  lives,  and  how  to 
combine  in  conventual  communities ;  she  had  set  them  a  pattern 
of  exalted  virtue,  piety,  and  charity,  which  they  labored  to  emu- 
late. In  a  few  years  the  rich  fmits  of  her  labors  brightened  into 
an  abundance  of  saintly  nuns,  whose  convents  rivalled  the  grow- 
ing monasteries,  as  temples  of  prayer  and  devotion,  and  as  places 
of  refuge  and  relief  for  the  poor,  the  needy,  and  the  oppressed. 

St  Bridget  was  received  by  the  people  of  Kildare  with  every 
demonstration  of  joy.  They  vied  with  each  other  in  exhibiting 
o^arks  of  love  and  respect  toward  her,  and  regarded  her  coming 
to  settle  among  them  as  a  special  mark  of  divine  favor.  A  site 
was  soon  selected  for  a  convent,  and  amidst  the  blessinga  of  the 
poor  and  the  rejoicings  of  the  people,  the  Convent  of  Kildare  wm 
erected  about  the  year  487.  i 

The  convent  was  situated  near  a  large  oak,  which  St  Bridget 
blessed,  and  which  existed  for  centurieb  afterward.  This  oak 
gave  a  name  to  tie  place  and  to  the  town  which  soon  aft  j*ward 
sprang  up  tnere,  for  Kil-da/ru  -means  the  cell  or  church  of  the  v>ak 


118 


■  \ : 


Lmt  OV  BT.  BBIDOET. 


Is?-. 


This  was  a  favorite  tree  with  Bridget,  and  oftentimes  she  sat  undei 
it,  reading  or  in  meditation ;  after  her  death,  pieces  of  it  were 
earried  away  by  relic-lmnters  until  it  finally  yielded  to  age  and 
kima 

At  first  the  convent  was  a  simple  Btmctare,  but  by  degrees  it 
was  enlarged  and  increased  until  it  became  the  most  celebrated 
in  Ireland.  The  fame  and  sanctity  of  Si  Bridget  attracted  per- 
sons to  it,  not  only  from  all  parts  of  Ireland,  but  also  from  Britain 
and  Scotland.  Some  sought  admission  into  the  community,  others 
came  to  spend  a  few  days  in  peace  and  sanctity,  the  better  to  pre- 
pare for  a  happy  death.  Saints  and  bishops  came  to  converse 
with  her  on  religious  aflfairs  and  holy  things.  Nobles  came  to 
pay  their  respects  and  to  obtain  her  blessing.  Mothers  brought 
their  children  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Saint  The  poor 
.  came  there  to  be  fed,  to  be  clothed ;  the  sick  to  be  healed,  and 
the  weary  traveler  to  obtain  shelter  and  refreshmenta  So  great 
was  the  crowd  of  visitors,  strangers,  and  pilgrims  that  flocked 
to  it,  that  for  their  accommodation,  houses  were  built  and  a  f^vm 
shortly  sprung  up  there.  It  soon  became  the  chief  town  in  Lei^ 
ster;  kings  and  nobles  vied  with  each  other  in  conferring  favors 
upon  it.  It  was  made  a  city  of  refuge,  and  all  who  escaped 
within  its  precincts  were  safe  from  their  enemies  and  pursuers. 

The  shrine  of  St.  Bridget  was  to  Ireland  what  Loretto  has  been 
to  Italy,  and  was  enricbed,  from  tinie  to  time,  by  the  offerings  of 
the  faithful  until  it  became  one  of  the  wealthiest  in  Ireland.  In 
that  early  age  of  the  primitive  Church  the  conventual  life  was 
only  just  beginning  to  assume  shape  and  foruL  St.  Bridget  was, 
perhaps,  the  very  first  among  the  saints  of  Europe  who  gathered 
into  communities  governed  by  certain  rules  a  congregation  of 
holy  virgids.  She  was  anterior  to  St.  Scholastica,  the  sister  of 
St.  Benedict,  wbo  was  the  great  founder  of  monasticism  in  the 
West,  These  communities  were  primitive  in  their  manner  of 
living,  as  also  in  the  severity  of  their  rules  and  discipline,  which 
were  of  the  most  austere  nature.  They  dwelt  in  cells  of  the 
rudest  and  simplest  construction,  and  spent  their  time  in  prayer 
mortification,  and  acts  of  ckarity.  They  freely  clothed  the  naked 
and  fed  the  hungry;  and  the  convents  and  monasteries  were  not 


Lm  or  ST.  BBIDOIT. 


119 


f 


only  the  asylums  of  the  learned  and  pious,  but  also  of  the  poor, 
the  afflicted,  and  the  distressed.  At  a  time  when  the  licentious 
ness  of  paganism  struggled  against  the  purity  of  Christianity  ii 
men's  hearts,  the  pure,  sacrificing  lives  of  those  holy  virgins  who 
despised  the  pleasures  and  allurements  of  the  world  to  give  them- 
selves up,  soul  and  body,  to  Jesus  Christ,  must  have  had  great  in 
Huence  upon  the  sterner  and  ruder  nature  of  man. 

Innumerable  are  the  traditions  handed  down  of  St.  Bridget's 
charity  and  generosity.  The  poor  never  left  her  empty-handed, 
and  her  convent  was,  indeed,  a  house  of  refuge  for  them.  Though, 
in  this  practical  age,  we  are  too  apt  to  ignore  the  supernatural 
and  miraculous,  it  is  not  right  to  reject  well-authenticated  state- 
ments of  miracles  performed  by  God  through  His  favored  servants ; 
aeither  can  we  deny  the  gift  of  prophecy,  for  by  so  doing  we 
would  be  ignoring  the  teachings  of  the  vary  Scriptures  them 

solves.  _..,;-:,,     ->      -■,,-;,;  .^.., ,,. 

The  number  of  miracles  said  to  be  performed  by  St.  Bridget 
are  innumerable.  A  young  girl  blind,  but  full  of  faith,  once  ex 
claimed  to  her :  "  Bless  my  eyes  that  I  may  behold  the  world  I " 
and  the  Saint  did  so,  and  the  girl  saw.  Another  girl,  deaf  and 
dumb,  was  brought  to  her,  and  she  simply  asked  her  would  she 
like  to  be  a  virgin  consecrated  to  God  ?  and  she  immediately  re 
plied :  "  I  wiJl  do  whatever  you  command  me."  When  Ninnidh, 
who  was  after  ^^ard  abbot  of  Innishmac^aiut,  was  a  young  lad, 
St.  Bridget  met  him  and  predicted  that  he  would  become  a  i& 
ligious,  and  that  she  would  receive  the  holy  viaticum  from  his 
hands  on  the  day  of  her  death. 

The  abbess  of  Kildare  exercised  influence  over  all  the  convents 
of  the  BridgetiQe  order  in  Ireland,  something  like  an  archbishop 
over  his  suffragan  bishops.  The  great  difference  between  the 
Augustinian  and  the  Bridgetine  nuns  is  this :  Each  commimity  oJ 
Augustinian  nuns,  who  followed  the  rules  laid  down  by  Si 
Augustine,  had  its  own  superioress,  and  no  one  house  was  sub 
jeot  to  another.  But  in  the  Bridgetine  order  it  was  quite  differ 
eni  Cogitosus,  in  his  Life  of  Si  Bridget,  says :  "  The  Convent 
of  Kildare  was  the  head  of  almost  all  the  Irish  convents,  and  its 
abbess  was  venerated  and  obeyed  accordingly "    How  far  thia 


M 


m 


ISO 


MWM  OT  ST.  BBmOXT. 


aathority  existed  it  is  now  impossible  to  say.  It  is  certain  thai 
not  only  the  abbess  of  Eildare  exercised  a  certain  jnrisdiotioD 
over  the  convents  of  the  Bridgetine  order,  but  that  the  bishop  of 
Kildare  exercised  a  corresponding  jurisdiction  over  the  priests 
attached  to  the  Bridgetine  convents.  But  we  are  not  to  infei 
from  this  that  these  convents  were  exempt  from  the  jurisdictioc 
y£  the  bishops  in  whose  dioceses  they  were.  It  is  asserted  by 
some  writers  that  there  was  no  written  rule  for  the  government 
of  her  order  left  by  St.  Bridget,  but  that  the  rule  called  after  her 
was  the  work  of  later  date ;  but  we  can  see  no  reason  why  the 
rules  that  governed  her  order  should  not  be  drawn  up  by  herself, 
and  be  the  work  of  her  own  hand.  As  this  subject  does  not 
come  within  the  scope  of  the  present  work,  we  will  not  discuss  it 
further,  but  simply  state  that  the  dress  of  the  old  Irish  nuns  was 
a  white  veil  and  a  white  garment,  which  continued  in  use  foi 
several  centuries  afterward.         '^        •    ^ 

The  church  of  KUdare  belonged  to  the  convent,  and  all  the 
church  plate  and  property  belonged  to  the  nuns.  From  this  it 
does  not  follow  that  the  bishop  of  Kildare  was  subject  to  the 
abbess.  The  bishop  was  the  highest  spiritual  authority  in  the 
diocese,  and  all  were  subject  to  him  in  religious  matters.  It  is 
even  thought  that  the  chaplains  of  the  different  Bridgetine  con- 
vents were  ordained  at  Kildai'e,  and  were  subject  to  its  bishop. 

St.  Bridget  was  visited  by  several  of  the  holy  bishops  and  nune 
of  her  time,  and  a  warm  friendship  existed  between  herself  and 
most  of  them  St.  Darerca,  abbess  of  the  convent  of  Killevy 
County  Armagh,  frequently  viuited  her,  and  brought  some  of  lie. 
nuns  betimes  with  her,  that  they  might  profit  by  St.  Bridget^ 
instruction  and  example.  St.  Ailbe,  of  Emly,  was  also  her  most 
intimate  friend,  and  frequently  visited  her.  St  Finian,  oi 
Glonard,  paid  her  a  visit,  and  delivered  a  discourse  to  the  nuns 
on  the  occasion.  She  was  frequently  visited  by  several  other 
doly  men,  and  by  the  kings  and  princes  of  the  land. 

The  nephew  of  King  Echodius  was  brought  to  Kildare  to  be 
baptized,  and  at  the  request  of  his  parents  St  Bridget  stood 
sponsor.  She  told  the  bishop  to  call  him  Tigemach,  and  prophe- 
sied that  he  wonid  be  raised  to  the  episcopacy.    He  afterward 


i*.,„ 


UFB  OT  BT.   BBIDOXT. 


191 


i 


founded  the  monastery  of  Glones,  and  is  said  to  have  succeeded 
Si  Maccartin  in  the  see  of  Glogher.  She  also  foretold  the  birth 
and  greatness  of  St  OolumbkilL  The  great  St.  Brendan  enter 
tained  a  high  regard  for  St  Bridget,  and  often  discoursed  with 
her  on  spiritual  perfection  t.\nd  religious  affairs. 

Bridget  practiced  the  grefitest  austerities  and  spent  most  of  the 
Qight  in  prayers  and  religious  devotion ;  her  health,  which  was 
aever  vigorous,  suffered  severely  from  such  severities.  She  was 
very  much  afflicted  with  a  headache.  On  one  occasion  sh«3  asked 
St.  Aid  to  beseech  God  to  take  away  the  pain  if  it  were  His  holy 
will.  The  Saint  did  so,  and  she  was  never  tortured  with  it  after- 
ward. Her  biographers  state  that  St.  Patrick  had  a  great  love 
and  veneration  for  St.  Bridget,  on  whom  he  looked  as  one  raised 
up  by  Providence  to  perfect  the  good  work  he  had  commenced. 
He  watched  over  her  from  infancy,  and  prophesied  her  future 
greatness  and  the  wonderful  supernatural  graces  bestowed  on  her. 
She  visited  him  frequently  to  learn  wisdom  from  his  wise  coun- 
sels and  sanctity  from  his  saintly  life.  He  was  to  her  as  a  father, 
advising  and  counseling  her  in  all  her  actions.  (1)  She  is  said  to 
have  had  a  revelation  of  his  death,  and  to  have  sent  him  the 
shroud  in  which  he  was  buried,  in  return  for  which  he  sent  her 
his  blessing.  Other  accounts  state  that  whe  i  she  was  admonished 
of  his  approaching  end,  she  took  four  of  her  nuns  with  her  and 
set  out  for  Saul,  where  she  arrived  in  time  to  receive  his  dying 
benediction  and  to  attend  at  his  obsequies. 
.  St.  Bridget  seems  to  have  possessed  all  the  qualifications  neo- 
essaiy  for  the  government  of  a  religious  house.  With  all  her 
sweetness,  humility,  and  tenderness,  she  possessed  firmness  and  a 
iove  of  order  and  regularity.  She  effected  more  by  her  gentle- 
ness and  tender  solicitude  for  her  nuns  than  she  could  by  harsh* 
ness  or  severity.  On  one  occasion  a  young  novice  in  the  convent 
contracted  an  affection  for  a  soldier,  and  had  consented  to  an  as 
signation.    When  the  time  came  the  grace  of  God  worked  power 


11 

■'■fl 


(1)  This  does  not  agree  with  the  statement  that  St  Patrick  died  in  46S,  for  ai  Bridget 
WM  b<»n  in  468,  she  would  be  only  12  yeaip  old  at  his  death.  If  we  credit  the  aooouiti 
that  8t  Patrick  lived  till  498,  this  friendship  b^kween  ihe  two  sainta  wtxaM  ba  likdy 
enough. 


198 


ura  or  ST.  BBiDon 


folly  in  ner  floul,  and  she  ran  to  the  flre^  and  threw  burning  ooals 
mto  her  shoes.  When  Bridget  made  inquiries  of  her  about  her 
feet  she  confessed  all,  and  the  Saint,  far  from  chiding  her,  em- 
braced her  tenderly,  and  praised  that  devotion  that,  sooner  than 
offend  God,  could  inflict  such  self-torture.  She  was  the  comforter 
of  the  distressed,  and  never  heard  of  persons  in  affliction  but  she 
tried  to  relieve  them.  Through  her  influence  several  were  released 
from  prison,  and  she  often  paid  the  ransom  for  their  liberation. 
The  King  of  Leinster  was  resolved  to  take  the  life  of  a  certain 
man  he  held  in  prison,  and  refused  any  compensation  for  his  free- 
dom. Bridget  interceded  for  him,  but  the  king  \  rivately  sent 
persons  to  kill  the  man.  The  Saint,  who  -was  aware  of  this, 
miraculously  protected  him  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  his  pardon. 

Several  instances  are  related  of  persons  escaping  imminent  dan- 
gers through  Si  Bridget's  intercession,  and  persons  setting  out  on 
joumeyb,  or  engaging  in  dangerous  enterprises,  were  very  anx- 
ious to  obtain  her  blessing.  Her  biographers  quote  several  in^ 
stances  of  those  under  her  protection,  or  who  had  received  her 
blessing,  being  miraculously  preserved  from  danger.  She  even 
on  several  occasions,  reconciled  contending  chieftains  and  dispu 
tants,  and  thus  prevented  the  effusion  of  much  blood. 

St.  Bridget's  life  was  one  series  of  acts  of  mercy,  love,  and 
charity.  She  labored  in  peace  and  for  the  good  of  mankind  and 
the  glory  of  God.  She  sacrificed  all  worldly  pleasures  for  the 
beatitude  of  heaven.  The  only  attainment  she  sought  on  earth 
was  to  do  the  will  of  her  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  His  grace 
was  her  staiF  thi  ugh  life,  and  supported  her  in  her  trials  and 
afflictions.  His  love  was  the  pure  flame  that  warmed  her  heart 
and  that  rewarded  her  for  all  her  labors  and  sacrifices.  The  love 
of  her  Saviour  alone  filled  her  heart ;  for  Him  she  lived  on  earth, 
and  with  Him  she  reigns  in  heaven. 

Having  thus  faithfully  served  her  God,  and  seeing  her  good 
works  overspreading  the  land,  she  calmly  awaited  the  heavenly 
call  to  enjoy  her  etei-nal  Spouse  4n  heaven.  Her  good  old  friend 
and  bishop,  St.  Coulaetb,  had  died  a  few  years  before  her,  and 
she  calmly  and  resignedly  awaited  her  dissolution  and  the  reward 
of  her  good  works.    She  was  forewarned  of  her  deatb,  and  told 


un  or  m.  bbiogst. 


IM 


a  favorite  nun  named  Derlugdaoha  of  the  event.  This  was  tlie 
same  nun  who  put  the  fire  into  her  shoes,  and  ever  since  a  great 
love  sprung  up  between  herself  and  the  Saint  Derlugdaoh* 
wept  at  being  separated  from  her  beloved  friend  and  abbess,  but 
Bridget  consoled  her  by  telling  her  that  her  own  death  would 
take  place  on  the  first  of  February,  and  on  that  day  twelvemonth 
Derlugdacha  would  be  united  with  her  in  heaven.  The  predio 
tion  was  fulfilled,  for  St.  Bridget,  laving  received  a  Blessed  Sac- 
rament from  the  hands  of  St.  Ninnidh,  a  heavenly  calm  rested 
upon  her  features,  and  she  soon  afterward  slept  in  the  Lord,  on 
the  first  of  February,  625,  in  the  72d  year  of  Ler  age.  The  re 
mains  were  piously  interred  at  one  side  ot  the  high  altar  of  hei 
church,  those  of  Si  Conlaeth  being  at  the  other. 

The  Four  Masters,  after  mentioning  her  death  in  the  year  625, 
say :  "  It  wm  to  her  Kil-da/ra  was  granted,  and  by  her  it  was 
founded.  Bright  was  she  who  never  turned  her  mind  or  atten- 
tion from  the  Lord  for  the  space  of  one  hour,  but  was  constantly 
meditating  and  thinking  of  Him  in  her  heart  and  mind."  Cogi 
tosus  states  that ''  the  bodies  of  Bishop  Conlaeth  and  St.  Bridget 
were  placed  on  the  right  and  left  sides  of  the  high  altar  of  the 
church  of  Kildare,  being  deposited  in  monuments  adorned  with 
various  embeUishments  of  gold  and  silver,  and  gems,  and  pre- 
cious stones,  with  crowns  of  gold  and  silver  depending  from 
above.*' 

Her  tomb  was  the  resort  of  pilgrims  for  centuries,  and  many 
cures  are  attributed  to  her  intercession,  and  kings  and  princes 
were  anxious  to  pay  devotion  to  her  shrine.  During  the  invasion 
of  the  Danes  the  remains  of  St  Bridget,  which  had  been  en- 
shrined, were  removed  to  a  place  of  safety.  This  was  necessary, 
for  these  fierce  invaders  plundered  the  church  of  Eildare  m  881 
The  relics  of  the  Saint  were  subsequently  removed  to  the  cathe 
dial  of  Down  and  deposited  with  those  of  St  Patrick.  Oolgas 
says  that  they  were  removed,  probably  by  EiUach,  who  was  abbot 
of  Eildare  monastery  for  some  time,  and  afterward  abbot  oi 
lona  from  the  year  863  to  865. 

After  the  relics  of  Su  Bridget  were  enshrined  for  nearly  foui 
hundred  years  in  the  cathedral  of  Down,  without  ever  being 


194 


Iiri  OF  8T.   BBIDOir. 


touohed  by  saorilegioaci  hands,  the  reformers  cnme  atiH  (lentroyod 
the  ■hrine.  According  to  some  writers,  the  relics  were  concealed 
by  the  Catholics  from  the  barbarism  of  the  reformers,  and 
guarded  by  an  Irish  priest,  who  carried  them  to  Austria,  until 
he  came  to  Neustadt,  on  the  borders  of  Hungary,  where,  accord 
ing  to  Oolgan,  BoUaudus,  and  several  Austrian  authorities,  tb( 
head  of  St.  Bridget  was  preserved  until  translated  to  the  Jesuit 
church  at  lisbon,  in  the  year  1587. 

Gordosus  and  other  writers  give  a  different  account  of  the 
relica  They  state  that  three  Irish  knights  brought  the  head  oi 
St.  Bridget  of  Kildare  to  Dionysius,  King  of  Lusitania,  wh( 
placed  it  in  the  church  of  the  Cistercian  nuns  at  Lumiar,  a  small 
town  near  Lisbon,  where  an  office  is  yearly  held  on  the  1st  of  Feb 
ruary  in  honor  of  St.  Bridget.  It  is  added  that  outsid<^  the  churcL 
door  was  a  slab  with  the  inscription :  "  In  these  three  graves  are 
interred  the  three  Irish  knights  who  brought  the  head  oi'  th« 
glorious  Si  Bridget,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  whose  reliuf- 
are  preserved  in  this  chapeL  The  sodality  of  this  glorious  Saiu' 
ordered  this  monument  to  be  erected  in  memory  of  the  event,  ii 
the  month  of  January,  1 288."(1) 

The  wonderful  sanctity  of  St.  Bridget^s  life,  her  profound  hu 
mility,  her  self-mortifications,  combined  with  her  burning  zeal  foi 
the  salvation  of  souls,  gained  for  her,  even  in  her  lifetime,  a  ven 
eration  and  respect  perhaps  never  so  fully  accorded  to  any  othei 
Saint.  Not  only  was  she  regarded  by  the  public  as  a  model  of 
sanctity,  purity,  and  virtue,  but  even  her  advice  was  sought  on 
weighty  matters  by  bishops  and  ecclesiastics  of  her  day.  and  ie 
said  to  have  been  looked  upon,  on  one  occaaion,  as  authoritative 
in  a  synod  held  in  Dublin.  So  great  w^as  the  veneration  of  the 
people  for  her  that  the^  likened  her  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and 
the  Irish  still  continue  to  observe  her  festival  with  great  respect 
and  reverence.  In  ancient  documents  she  is  called  *^ Altera  Ma 
riOt*  *^  Another  Mary"  and  "Mary  of  the  Irish."   ^  ^  ^     ^ 


(1)  As  the  remiuiui  of  ihe  three  saints,  Patrick,  Bridget,  and  Colambkill,  were  trans 
latod  in  the  year  1186,  in  the  cathedral  of  Down,  the  relic  at  Lnmiar  could  scarcely  be 
Cbe  head  of  Bt.  Bridget  of  Kildare.  Howeter,  the  greatest  respect  and  honor  hu  been 
ptid  to  her  memory,  not  only  in  Ireland,  but  also  throughout  the  continent  of  Buropa 


UFl  Of  ST.  VaiDOWS. 


1S5 


Several  ehurohes  in  England,  E<ootland,  Germany,  France,  and 
>tlier  parts  of  Europe  were  dedicated  to  God  under  her  patron- 
%ge  and  in  her  name;  among  others,  that  of  St.  Bride,  Fleet 
Street,  London ;  also  churches  at  Seville,  Lisbon,  Plwoentia,  Tourt. 
Besanoon,  Namur,  and  Cologne.  A  church  of  St  Bridget,  neai 
Athol,  was  celebrated  for  its  miracles ;  and  a  portion  of  her  relics 
WM  kept,  with  great  veneration,  in  a  monastery  of  regular  canons 
at  Abemethy,  once  a  bishopric  and  the  capital  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  Picts.  Oolumbkill,  who  was  bom  a  few  years  before  St 
Bridget's  death,  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  her  saintly  life.  He 
celebrated  her  as  a  model  of  sanctity,  purity,  and  perfection.  He 
caUed  her  the  bright  virgin  and  the  founder  of  religious  life  in 
the  Island  of  Saints.  We  take  the  following  extract  from  hir 
Doeni,  which  was  written  in  Lish,  in  praise  of  her  * 


*<  Bridget,  the  good  ud  the  Tlrgla, 
.  ~  Bridget,  oar  torch  and  oar  ran; 

Bridget,  radiant  and  unieen, 
\j  May  ahe  lead  as  to  the  eternal  klngd( 

„ -V  .    May  Bridget  defend  us 

. .«  Against  all  the  troops  of  hell, 

Andall  theadyersities  of  lift; 
.,  '       >:    May  she  beat  them  down  before  as, 

All  the  ill  movements  of  the  flesh. 
,    This  pure  ylrgin  whom  we  lore,  •  ^ 

Worthy  of  honor  without  end,  .  ' 

^       May  she  extinguish  in  us — 
"■"-  :  Yes,  she  shall  always  be  our  safegaard, 

Dear  Saint  of  Lagenia. 
:^.  After  Patrick,  she  comes  the  first,  ,,  ~ 

The  pillar  of  tKe  land. 
Glorious  amoiig  all  glories. 
Queen  among  all  queens. 
"         When  old  age  comes  upon  OS, 

May  she  be  to  UB  as  the  shirt  of  hair; 
May  she  fill  us  with  her  grace; 
.  May  Bridget  protect  us  I " 

The  following  poem,  attributed  to  St  Bridget,  is  taken  fron 
MS.  in  the  Burgundian  Library,  Brussels,  and  published  by  Eu 

gene  Curry . 

"I  should  Uke  a  great  lake  oi  ale      " 
For  the  king  of  the  kings ; 
I  Bhoold  like  tiie  fionily  of  heaven 
To  be  drinking  it  through  time  eternal. 


IS6 


ura  ov  w.  BBnMK; 


■'^ 


I  tbookl  Hk*  the  TlMdi 

Of  b«ll«f  and  poM  pl«^| 

I  thoold  liks  lUil« 

Of  pcDMiM  at  my  hooM ; 

I  tkonld  like  the  men  of  heafw 

In  my  own  bouae ; 

I  ahoold  like  kierea 

Of  peace  to  be  at  tbeir  diapoaal; 

I  Bboald  like  Teaaela  - 

Of  obaiity  for  diatrlbatioB ; 

I  iboold  Uke  catea 

Of  mercy  for  their  compaay ; 

I  ahoold  like  oheeriblneaa 

Tobatn  their  drinking;  |  . 

I  aboald  like  Jeaoa, 

Too,  to  be  here  (among  them  0 

I  aboald  Uke  the  three 

Harya  of  iUaatriona  renown ; 

I  ahoold  like  the  people  i 

Of  beayen  there  from  all  paita; 

I  ahoold  Uke  that  I  ahoold  be   , 

▲  reni-payer  to  the  Lord ; 

That,  ahoold  I  aoflRur  diatreaa, 

He  woold  beatow  opon  me  a  good  bleaalnf  ." 


"I .  ■ 


Hiiii  passed  from  earth  this  glorious  Saint,  whose  name  to-day 
is  reyerenced  wherever  Catholicity  sheds  its  hallowing  inflnenoe. 
In  Ireland  her  name  is  a  household  word,  and  held  next  in  rever* 
enoe  to  that  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  herself.  She  is  the  patroness 
of  the  Christian  women  of  the  land ;  and  amid  the  glories  which 
encircle  her  in  heaven,  she  ceases  not  to  use  her  advocacy  for  the 
daughters  of  her  native  land,  and  to  watch  over  the  destinies  of 
those  who  are  driven  from  their  homes  to  encounter  the  trials 
and  temptations  of  an  evil  world. 

St.  Bridget  was  well  read  in  the  theology  and  in  the  literature 
of  the  day;  we  find  that  her  advice  was  often  sought  on  important 
matters  by  the  most  eminent  ecclesiastics  of  the  time,  and  jeveral 
works  have  been  attributed  to  her.  She  caused  **  a  harmony  of 
the  Gospel,"  written  by  St.  Jerome,  to  be  copied  in  letters  of  gold. 
Among  the  early  notices  of  her  life  are,  a  hymn  by  St.  Brogan  on 
her  virtues  and  miracles ;  a  Life  by  Cogitosus,  supposed  to  have 
been  written  in  the  seventh  century;  a  Life  by  St.  Ultan.  An- 
other Life  of  the  Saint  was  written  in  the  tenth  century  by  Ani* 
nosus,  bishop  of  Kildare ;  another  by  Dunelmensis  and  one  in 


UWM  Of  ST.  BBIOOaB. 


117 


▼one  by  Si  Ooelan,  of  the  monaitery  of  Inis-Keltein.  The  pndM 
beitowed  upon  the  Saint  by  these  early  writen  ahows  that  iha 
was  pre-eminent  for  her  saintly  qualities,  in  an  age  when  it  pleased 
Providenoe  to  raise  up  so  many  holy  men  and  women  as  Justly  to 
giye  to  Ireland  the  designation  of  **  Tha  Idand  of  SainU,^ 

As  the  memory  of  St  Bridget  is  intimately  oonneoted  vrith  the 
monastery  of  Kildare,  we  present  our  readers  with  a  short  sketch 
of  the  modem  history  of  that  institution,  condensed  from  Harris' 
Ware :  ^The  ohuroh  of  Kildare  is  for  the  most  part  iu  ruins,  yet 
the  walls  are  still  standing,  together  with  the  south  side  of  the 
steeple,  and  the  walls  of  the  na^e,  which  is  adorned  to  the  south 
with  six  Gothic  arches  and  as  many  buttresses.  The  north  side 
of  the  steeple  is  level  with  the  ground,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
beaten  down  by  a  battery  planted  against  it  during  the  rebellion 
in  1641.  The  choir  where  Divine  Service  is  used  had  nothing 
worth  notice  in  it  except  a  large  Gothic  window,  much  decayed, 
which  the  chapter  have  lately  taken  down,  and  replaced  by  a 
modem  Venetian  window.  The  south,  which  was  formerly  a 
chapel,  is  in  rains,  and  in  it  lie  two  large  stones,  in  alto-relievo, 
curiously  i  arved.  One  represents  a  bishop  in  his  robes,  a  pastoral 
staff  in  his  right  hand,  and  a  mitre  on  his  head,  supported  by  two 
monkeys  and  other  decorations,  but  being  without  inscription,  it 
only  leaves  room  for  conjecture,  that  it  was  erected  for  Echmnd 
LaiMy  bishop  of  Kildare,  who  was  buried  here  in  1622.  The  other 
is  a  monument  of  Sir  Maurice  Fitzgerald  of  Lackagh,  curiously 
cut  in  armor,  with  an  inscription  round  the  stone,  and  upon  the 
right  side  of  it  are  fine  emblasoned  escutoheons.  Ralph  of  Bristol, 
bishop  of  Kildare,  greatly  adorned  the  cathedral,  and  was  the 
first  Englishman  who  sat  in  this  see.  He  died  in  1282.  It  was 
again  repaired  by  Bishop  Lane  in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  VIL, 
but  soon  after  battered  down.  Near  the  west  end  stands  a  hand* 
some  round  tower,  adomed  with  a  battlement,  and  full  forty-four 
yards  high ;  near  it  stood,  on  an  ancient  pedestal  of  rough  hewn 
stone,  a  cross,  the  top  of  which  now  lieth  in  the  church-yard. 
Near  the  round  tower  is  an  old  building  called  the  *Fire  House,* 
where  the  uneaAmgvMhMe  fire  was  formerly  kept  by  the  nuns  of 
Si  Bridget 


Ura  OV  0T.  BBIDOlf 


h  ;t 


'  OftmbrensiB  giyes  the  following  account  of  the  nnextingiiiahable 
An  in  ancient  times  preserved  at  KQdare  by  the  nnns  of  the  con- 
▼tut  of  St  Bridget:  ^  At  Kildare,  which  the  glorious  Bridgia 
renders  illnstrions^  are  many  mirades  worthy  of  notice,  and  the 
Irst  that  occurs  is  Bridgid's  fire,  called  the  unextinguishable  fii'e, 
not  that  it  can  not  be  pat  oat,  bat  because  the  nuns  and  religious 
women  are  so  carefhl  and  diligent  in  supplying  and  recruiting  it 
with  fuel,  that  from  the  time  of  that  virgin,  it  hath  remained  al- 
ways unextinguished  thiough  so  many  succession  of  years,  and 
though  so  vast  a  quantity  of  wood  hath  been,  in  such  a  length  of 
time,  consumed,  yet  the  ashes  hath  never  increased."  This  fire 
was  at  length  extinguished  by  Henry  Launders,  Archbishop  of 
Dnblin,  in  the  year  1220.  As  to  the  origin  or  use  of  it,  writers 
are  much  divided  in  their  opinions.  Some  look  on  it  as  a  remnant 
of  the  pagan  superstition  of  the  Baaliine;  others  say  that  after 
St  Bridget's  death  a  fiamis  issued  from  her  grave,  from  which  the 
nuns  lit  the  sacred  fire  and  kept  it  lighted  in  memory  of  the  oo- 
ourrence.  In  the  Life  of  St  Kiran,  mention  is  made  of  a  certain 
custom  prevalent  in  L^land,  of  blessing  fire  on  the  eve  of  the 
Pasoh,  and  by  supplying  fresh  fuel,  the  fire  was  kept  lighted 
.nntil  the  return  of  the  same  festival  on  the  following  year.  This 
custom  might  have  been  observed  at  KUdare  in  St  Bridget's 
lime,  and  afterward  was  kept  up  by  the  nuns,  out  of  respect  fbi 
4ieir  grpat  and  buly  patronc 


guiahable 
f  the  con- 
i  Bridgia 
,  and  the 
lable  fii'e, 
religious 
iiiting  it 
ained  al- 
ears,  and 
length  of 
This  fire 
)ishop  of 
;,  writers 
remnant 
lat  after 
hich  the 
f  the  00- 
a  eertaiu 
9  of  the 
lighted 
u*.    This 
Sridgot's 
pect  (01 


Tiit"  ■■^' , 


.i-^' 


fi>V 


-iiiiilili'^iliirijii.,. 


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